Heaven's Eye
by Trainer Jayden
Summary: Despite growing up Quirkless, Izuku suddenly manifests a mysterious, but powerful ocular Quirk. Trained by All Might himself, he faces the long road towards sharpening his skills and becoming the Symbol of Peace. But as he'll soon find out, it takes more than dreams and fancy eyesight to be the hero you're meant to be.
1. Origins

**I know Sharingan means 'Copy Wheel Eye', but that doesn't sound cool so I'm using a different translation.  
**

* * *

Speech Key

"Bakugou"

Emphasis

 _Thoughts_

" _Flashback_ "

"BAKUBRO"

" **All Might** "

* * *

 _Chapter 1: Origins_

* * *

Izuku Midoriya sat quietly in front of his family computer, his legs dangling well over the floor. He watched again and again as the hero - his hero \- All Might carried dozens of people out of burning rubble and wreckage, laughing despite the chaos, destruction, and blood, even his own!

Just this morning, watching this video would've brought out the biggest smile on Izuku's face, a smile so pure and full of joy that even the hardest of villains would rethink their life choices. But unfortunately, not all men are created equal.

From behind him, Izuku could hear Inko Midoriya shuffling around, busying herself with something, anything. He knew she felt bad for her son. Pitied him even. But she was his mother, so he knew when he needed comfort, she would be the first to give it to him.

"Mom?" He called out, his voice shaky with unshed tears, "No matter how bad it is, he's always smiling when he saves you."

Izuku turned slowly to his mother, the tears finally falling like rain despite the brave smile he tried emulating, "I wanna be a cool hero like that."

His mother didn't even hesitate to run to him, wrapping her arms around her child tightly and sobbing sympathetically. "Izuku!"

 _Here it comes. Mom'll make it all better. Like always! Who cares if I'm Quirkless, right?_

"I'm sorry, Izuku!" Inko wailed, her grip tightening around his body.

Time stopped for Izuku at that moment, almost as if the fourth dimension itself wanted to keep him trapped in that moment of hell forever. _Mom...I wanna save people...Please, tell me I can...please?  
_

Oblivious to the trauma scraping away at her son at the moment, Inko just held him even closer with eyes shut just as tightly, terribly unaware of the flash of red beneath her child's teary gaze.

* * *

 **10 Years Later**

Izuku looked down at his feet as he continued his long walk home, his body hollow and numb to the outside world. The situation was almost comical, really.

In one day, he got eviscerated by Kacchan in front of the whole class, had his notebook destroyed, got violated by a sludge villain, and then learned that his idol, All Might, was fighting crime on borrowed time.

Oh, and also, he told Izuku that he couldn't be a hero.

He stopped on the sidewalk and gave a sad smile to no one in particular. _It's funny...I know he's right that being Quirkless would make it really hard to be a hero, but having it come from him of all people hurts a lot more than I thought._ Izuku clutched his chest as he felt tears begin forming. _I can't tell if I wanna cry or scream more.  
_

Then he heard an ear-piercing cry.

 _Huh. Yea, just like that._

Then Izuku felt his bones shake from the sound of a powerful explosion around the corner. He could already see people fleeing the scene. He even caught sight of Kamui Woods swinging to where the explosion came from.

Peering down the road, he saw a small crowd circling some sort of commotion. He could also see Pro Heroes like Death Arms and Mt. Lady joining Kamui Woods to try to either calm down the crowd or deal with whatever was causing all the havoc.

Then he saw the Sludge Villain at the center of it all and his skin blanched. _Him? How is that possible? All Might captured him and put him in his pocket!_

Then Izuku remembered the commotion from when he grabbed the Number 1 Hero and the jerky movements that could've all too easily dislodged a poorly secured bottle.

 _He fell out at that moment! That means...this is my fault!_

"Apparently the villain's got a middle schooler trapped right now." A random person commented from the crowd.

 _What?! Why aren't the heroes doing anything?_

Another pedestrian said, "I thought All Might was dealing with this villain. Where'd he go?"

"All Might's here? Where is he?"

 _Oh no. It's also my fault All Might can't help out right now! If I wasn't such an idiot back then, then the villain would never have gotten out and All Might would still have time left in his muscle form! Dammit, why am I so useless?!_

Then Izuku saw the Sludge Villain's hostage.

 _Kacchan?_

Before he knew it, he had broken through Death Arm and the police's barricade and was running straight towards the villain. He heard people call out in surprise and shock, but nothing really registered in his chaotic mind.

"Get back here, you idiot!" Death Arms called out to him, but the teenager was beyond reason right now.

From the crowd, a skeletal man with blonde hair watched as the child he admonished earlier made a mad dash for the villain causing so much havoc. "What the hell?"

The villain saw the incoming 14-year-old and recalled, "It's that kid from earlier. Does he have some sort of a death wish?"

Bakugou could vaguely make out a shape through the pain, but he quickly recognized the poofy hair and lanky figure. "Deku?" he murmured weakly.

Izuku's thoughts were racing at light speed at the moment, but his gaze was locked onto one thing: those fearful eyes. It was a look Izuku knew well from personal experience, ironically because of the person who currently wore it. But seeing his childhood friend-turned-bully with that look of absolute terror lit something inside of Izuku that he thought long-dead.

 _I wanna save people!_

Time slowed down for Izuku, as if the Sludge Villain was moving in water or something. In a split second, without even thinking about what was going on, Izuku determined the villain's weak spot and formulated a plan of attack. He tossed his backpack with all his might at the villain's eye, managing to nail it with perfect accuracy. Then, he began clawing at the slime surrounding his classmate with the speed of a man possessed.

"Deku? What're you doing?!" Bakugou growled.

Izuku looked at his former friend and flash a terrified smile, "I just couldn't do nothing!"

"Would you do me a favor and just die?" The villain roared as he made Bakugou fire several explosions to push his assailant back. Then, the villain swung at Izuku with a particularly long tendril, intent on crushing the teenager into a different, more gruesome type of sludge. However, Izuku saw the villain's movement in slow-motion again. It was almost like his brain was processing all the visual information available to him even faster than his already-quick brain could normally handle. _What's going on?_

So as the villain was preparing to use Bakugou's explosions, Izuku was in the jumping position. Then, as he was beginning to swing the tendril, Izuku was already crouched under its trajectory. Same for the next several attacks. It became increasingly clear to Izuku that despite the power and gross-factor of the villain's Quirk, he was rather predictable as a fighter.

 _He's getting sloppy. He keeps me away with Kacchan's Quirk, but maybe I can use that to my advantage! If this attack pattern keeps up, I'll have an opening right..._ "Now!" Izuku jumped over a tendril and dashed straight for Bakugou. Izuku could hear the Pro Heroes and police yelling at him again, but for once in his life, he felt good about the situation.

All Might watched the scene unfold. _This kid...this_ _Quirkless_ _kid...Dammit! Why am I so useless right now?_ Then All Might saw Izuku's eyes and his skin blanched. _Wait a minute..._

"Haven't you learned your lesson? You can't get near me!" The villain lifted Bakugou's arm and prepared to fire.

"What're you doing, idiot? You have a death wish?" Bakugou grit through the pain as he watched Izuku take action. _Why doesn't he just run?!_

 _The most significant way to change the direction of an arm is the shoulder so if I grab his wrists, I can leverage them easily!_ Izuku ducked under the initial wave of explosions, which fired exactly where he thought they would, and grabbed Bakugou's wrists. Then, with all his strength, he pushed them up, right in time for the second wave of explosions, which fired not at Izuku but right into the eyes of the villain.

In that moment of confusion, Izuku managed to pull Bakugou out of the slime and to the wall opposite the villain. His heart was racing, and he wasn't sure about the condition of his pants, but he had the biggest smile on his face. "Don't worry Kacchan. Everything's gonna be okay now."

Exhausted and barely conscious, Bakugou could barely mutter, "Run, you damn nerd."

The villain roared, his eyes shut tight from the damage, "Enough of this!" He spun wildly, sending an absolute onslaught of tendrils in every direction at incredible speed.

Izuku paled as he tried to move but felt imminent danger at every course of action. Despite his insight, it was clear that the villain's sheer physical ability coupled with Bakugou's lack of mobility essentially removed all options. _These are_ _way_ _faster than before! I can see them coming and I know where to go but...my body can't move fast enough! Mom, I'm sorry!_ Izuku shielded Bakugou's body with his own and prepared for the worst.

" **Huh. I really am pathetic, huh? I really need to practice what I preach.** "

Izuku's eyes shot open and he turned around slowly, feeling intense relief wash over him. The towering figure of All Might stared back at him with a smile as wide as he'd ever seen, the back of his shirt dripping with presumably the slime he shielded the teens from.

" **Apologies for taking so long but have no fear. Why? Because I am here!** " With that, All Might delivered the mother of all uppercuts, splattering the sludge villain, extinguishing most of the fires, and creating a freaking rainstorm.

"Holy shit! He changed the weather with one punch!" A bystander cried out in awe as the crowd erupted into triumphant cheers.

Izuku's eyes welled up with relief, almost painfully so, a sudden wave of exhaustion hitting him as adrenaline left his body. Rubbing his eyes, he stuttered, "A-All Might! Thank y-you!" _He saved us even though he's injured and already tired out! He's so cool!_

The Symbol of Peace flashed the teens a grin, " **Don't worry about it, kid. Happy to help!** " _Ugh, I need to get out of here before the reporters hound me. I'm already past my limit as it is._ All Might thought to himself as he turned from the slime splatter to the teens he just saved, " **You two alright?** "

All Might watched as paramedics and Pro Heroes looked over the kids, but he paid extra attention to the green-haired one. _I know what I saw. Looks like I really need to have a talk with him._

* * *

After getting thoroughly chewed out by Death Arms and Kamui Woods for getting involved, all while Slugger and the police were practically fawning over Bakugou, Izuku decided to go home, his path illuminated by the evening sunset.

Lost in his own thoughts and the sound of his trudges, he didn't notice the sound of someone running until they called, "DEKU!"

Izuku turned around quickly, taken aback by the sudden arrival, "K-Kacchan?"

Bakugou clenched his fist as he roared, "DON'T THINK I NEEDED YOUR HELP OR ANYTHING TODAY! I HAD THAT SLIME PRICK RIGHT WHERE I WANTED HIM! FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, YOU'RE STILL A USELESS DEKU! SO, DON'T GO THINKING THIS CHANGES ANYTHING!"

Bakugou then turned and stormed off, leaving one very bewildered Midoriya behind. _What was that about?_ Izuku gave a sad smile. _I guess Kacchan's always gonna be Kacchan._

Izuku turned around, rubbing his eyes, only to fall back with a shriek as a massive figure came barreling out from the nearby alley, " **I am here, Young Midoriya!** "

"A-all Might? I thought you got hounded by the press! What're you doing here?" Izuku managed to squeak, his heart still racing from the shock.

The hero let out a booming laugh, " **HAHA! Escaping those journalists was nothing at all! Why? Because** -GAH!" All Might spat out an impossible amount of blood as he shrunk to his true form, wrapped in a cloak of steam.

"Oh my god!" Izuku shrieked again, his already irritated eyes and naturally overactive tear ducts threatening to unleash a flood of biblical proportions.

All Might wiped his mouth and cleared his throat, "Sorry about that. Anyways, I wanted to talk to you about your actions back there."

Izuku looked down at his feet as tears began forming, "I know. I-I'm sorry I caused so much trouble. I just...I don't know what happened. It was like-"

"Your body moved without thinking, right?"

Izuku's head shot up to his idol and nodded, "Y-yea!"

All Might nodded in acknowledgement and spoke, "You know, all the greatest heroes showed signs as children. That they were destined to be pillars in society. And all of them share the same thing in common. They all acted without thinking about themselves. That's self-sacrifice. You get what I'm saying?"

Izuku nodded again, his heart beating faster with every word. _Is he saying...what is he saying?_

All Might took a deep breath and continued, "Kid, I told you that you couldn't be a hero. Yet, not an hour later, you're the only one to charge right into a villain to save someone else. And not only that, you put up a hell of a fight. And even beyond that, you inspired me to go beyond."

Tears were threating to fall, but for once, they weren't from sadness or despair. Izuku remembered the words of his mother, his teachers, his classmates. Everyone who told him that he couldn't be what he wanted to be. What he needed to be.

"Kid, you can be a hero."

There was no stopping these waterworks. His heart was positively bursting. His idol and the world's greatest hero had just told him - Izuku 'Deku' Midoriya \- that he could become a hero! _Finally! Someone believes in me! I feel like nothing else matters right now. I just want to remember this moment forever and ever._ He looked up at his hero and smiled as widely as he could.

All Might looked at the kid with a smile before noticing the other thing he wanted to talk about, "Oh, speaking of which: kid, I thought you told me you were Quirkless."

"...huh?"

All Might looked at the kneeling boy curiously, "You told me you were Quirkless, but you clearly have a Quirk. What gives?"

"...huh?!" Izuku just stared at All Might, his eyes wide.

"...Don't tell me you didn't know about it? Like here, look." All Might quickly took his phone out and snapped a picture before showing the screen to Izuku.

"...HUH?!" In the picture, Izuku's bright green eyes were gone, replaced by a glowing red. What's more, his pupils appeared to be surrounded by a black ring with two comma-like symbols spaced evenly apart. Meanwhile, his real eyes reappeared, the red glow vanishing.

All Might was a loss for words, "Umm...congratulations? I'm at a loss for words here. It's pretty late to manifest your Quirk. You're what, 11? 12?"

Izuku squeaked, "I'm almost 15."

The Symbol of Peace spat up a waterfall of blood, "SO SCRAWNY!"

He barely registered All Might's words as he continued gaping in awe at the picture. _I have a Quirk? It makes sense. Professors on Quirk Theory often like to say that Quirks are analogous to muscles, with Emitter and Transformation types often triggered by reflex. I noticed my perception and analysis was a lot faster than normal, but I thought that was just adrenaline. Although I also had a degree of insight too, which I suppose is just a higher application of analysis but for me to have used it so well in the middle of my first villain fight...I should've realized that something was up, although how could I when I was so focused on not dying and saving Kacchan. Speaking of Kacchan, I wonder if he'll stop calling me Deku now that I have a Quirk. But speaking of that, how come it just manifested? AndIthoughtthedoctortoldmethatIhadtheextrajointsoIshouldn'thaveaQuirkfactor,althoughIthinkthat'sjustcorrelation,whichisn'tcausationsomaybeI'mjustanoutlierfromthenormwhichcould-_

" **STOP!** " All Might briefly transformed and lightly chopped Izuku's head, "You're giving me an aneurysm!"

"Gah!" Izuku exclaimed before he bowed continuously, "I'm so sorry! I didn't know I was saying that out loud! Please forgive me!"

All Might sighed as he rubbed his temple. _I picked a weird fanboy. This just comes with the territory._ "Look kid, there's one more thing I wanted to talk to you about. The fact that you weren't even aware of your Quirk when you rushed in to save your friend just makes me more sure about this."

"Hm?" Izuku was even more confused now. _What could be bigger than telling me that I have a Quirk?_

"I believe you are worthy to inherit my Quirk."

"...WHAT?!" Izuku quickly began a new muttering storm as he fervently tried to decode All Might's verbage.

Sighing, the hero continued, "My Quirk is called One For All."

Izuku's eyes widened and he felt the air grow thicker as if the wind itself knew the significance of what All Might was saying. "One...For All?"

All Might nodded, "Yes. It's a Quirk passed down from person to person. Master to student. It's the crystallization of all of our combined strength, stockpiled throughout the generations and focused into one person. Anyways, you know about my injury, yeah?"

Izuku nodded quietly, recalling the ghastly sight on that rooftop.

"Well since I can't use this power to its fullest, I need to pass it on to the next generation. And who better to be my successor than the not-so-Quirkless boy who rushed into the heat of battle before anyone else?"

"W-wait. You're offering me...your power? I'd be as strong as you?!"

All Might chuckled at the boy's awestruck expression, "Yes, you would be as strong as I am. Stronger, actually. Eventually. Plus, having a Quirk might create some interesting effects too."

Izuku tried to open his mouth, but all that came out was a squeak. His mind was racing faster than he thought possible. Then he heard a small ringing sound and momentary itch in his eyes.

"Oh, hey! It's back." All Might commented.

"Huh?" Izuku gasped, only to feel that itch again and hear another, lower pitch ringing tone.

"And it's gone. Weird. Anyways, I don't expect an answer right away, but-"

"I accept." Izuku's eyes shone not with the power of his Quirk, but with determination.

All Might looked stunned for a moment, but grinned soon after, "Good answer."

* * *

"Umm, All Might, where are we going?" Izuku asked his companion as they walked down the Musutafu streets. It was the next day and Izuku received a text during lunch to meet All Might after school. After fanboying over how his idol was personally messaging him, he agreed and promptly got on a train the second the bell rang.

All Might chuckled, in his true form so as not to attract attention, "Well I know you must be excited to start training to receive my power, but I think you should learn about your own Quirk first. Also, I haven't finished your training plan yet." All Might muttered that last part quietly.

"Oh. But where are we going for that? My doctor's office is the other way."

All Might shook his head, "If he couldn't recognize that you had a Quirk then, I doubt he'd be much help. No, we're going to see the world's greatest physician and an expert on Quirk physiology. Besides, it's always good to tour your prospective school."

"My prospective...no." Izuku began trembling with both nervousness and excitement. _No no no. No way. No freaking way!_

This continued even after All Might took him past the UA gates and to the nurse's office.

"Ah, All Might. I got your message. So, this is your successor?" _Little young, isn't he?_

"Yes, thank you for meeting with us." He waited for a moment before nudging his protégé and hissing, "Introduce yourself."

"I'M IZUKU MIDORIYA, MS. YOUTHFUL HEROINE: RECOVERY GIRL, MA'AM!" _Dammit!  
_

Sighing, All Might tried to salvage this first impression, "Young Midoriya here is actually taking the entrance exam next year."

 _Oh, so he's not young. He's just wimpy. Got it._ Recovery Girl smiled at the boy, "Nice to meet you sonny. Would like some candy?" She held out a small handful of gummy bears, which the hero-to-be took gratefully. "Anyways, let's try to figure out your dilemma."

She led him to a chair and rapidly took his vitals, measurements, and a blood sample.

"While that's getting scanned, why don't you try to show me your quirk?"

Izuku nodded and tried to turn it on, only to realize something crucial, "Umm...how do I activate a quirk?"

All Might rapidly announced in his muscular form, " **Clench your buttocks and yell-** "

"Shut up." Recovery Girl hissed, prompting the now-dejected Number 1 Hero to nod and sulk in the corner, "Anyways sonny, just try to reproduce whatever feeling triggered it in the first place. Do you remember what it felt like to use your quirk?"

Izuku thought about it and smiled after a moment, "Yea, it felt...itchy when I turned it on. And I could hear a ringing sound. And then it was like WOOSH and everything was slower and I could tell what was gonna happen and it like BAM!"

Recovery Girl gave a forced smile and made notes in her binder. _He's certainly as weird as All Might, I'll give him that._ "Okay, now try to recall your emotional state when that happened."

"Got it. My emotional state." Izuku remembered how it felt to see Bakugou struggling and in need of a hero or when All Might told Izuku that he could be a hero. And then:

Izuku's eyes shot open, now red and outlined with two tomoe.

Recovery Girl smiled, "Well done. Now let me make some notes and I'll pull up the Quirk Registry and see if I can find any similar cases such as yours." She spent some time on the computer before gesturing Izuku and All Might to the screen.

"Now, there are only about 10,000 cases of people with late Quirk manifestation since we began recording this information. That's a pretty small number of people considering there are over a dozen billion people with Quirks in this registry. However, there are over a hundred cases where people with late Quirk manifestation also had red eyes like yours."

All Might rubbed his chin, "Hmm. That's pretty rare."

Recovery Girl shook her head, "That means 1 out every 100 late bloomer has or had a Quirk that changed eye color to red. That's incredibly specific. If I had to guess, I'd say your Quirk is caused by a recurring mutation. It's almost like convergent evolution."

She pulled up another page and showed it to her guests, "Now, this is Midoriya's maternal family tree from the National Registry. Their Quirk history goes back four generations. But nobody has a Quirk remotely similar to Midoriya."

Recovery Girl closed out the web page and pulled forth another family tree, "His father, on the other hand, reportedly had an uncle with glowing eyes from Heat Vision. So that's at least a hint to a hereditary history."

Izuku's eyes widened, "Really? Does that mean I can shoot fire from my eyes?"

Recovery Girl shrugged, "I'm not entirely sure to be honest. It's not likely, but it's also not impossible."

At that moment, the machine where Recovery Girl placed the blood sample started beeping, "Well, that'd be the analysis. Let's see...Hmm."

"What? What is it?" All Might asked.

Izuku gripped his school uniform. _Please be good news. Please be good news._

Recovery Girl smiled, "Well, you definitely have a Quirk factor. That much is certain."

Izuku felt a lightness in his chest. _I mean, I knew I had to cuz of the picture but just hearing it said out loud..._

"As for why your doctor couldn't diagnose, I'd say it's because the mutagenic factor affects your eyes and optical nerves exclusively, not any other part of your body. So trying to use a marker, like the toe joint, wouldn't do much good." _Though I always that the preqruisite for being able to mutate a Quirk in the first place is the loss of vestigial physiology like the toe join.  
_

Upon further analysis, Recovery Girl then rubbed her chin, "Hmm. It appears that your Quirk factor affects a series of marker genes."

Izuku hesitated before asking, "Umm, Miss Recovery Girl? What does that mean?"

She chuckled, "Sorry. Those are genes that every human has. Some other species actually have this one too. But this would explain why there are multiple Quirks with similar characteristics popping up under mysterious circumstances. From all the information I have, which really isn't much, I'd say your quirk is the result of a rare, but recurring mutation. I'll see if I can find anyone on that list from earlier that's still alive for comparison's sake."

All Might thought before asking, "How do you think One For All would interact with his Quirk?"

Izuku blanched before realizing. _Of course, she'd know about One For All. She knew I was his successor, didn't she? She probably treated All Might for his injury so she'd know about that, too._

Recovery Girl shrugged, "It's hard to guess. I'd say to just use it as often as you can, in a safe and legal setting, of course. Learn its capabilities. Test it out. Push yourself. That's the only way Quirks grow: if you break them down, they'll build themselves back up."

"Speaking of growing," All Might grew into his muscular form, " **Let's begin our training tomorrow. 6 A.M. at Dagobah Beach. That work for you?** "

Izuku grinned and nodded furiously, "Yes, sir!"

" **HAHA! Now that's what I like to hear! See you tomorrow, Young Midoriya!** " With that, All Might dashed out of the nurse's office at breakneck speed.

Izuku stood there dumbfounded for a moment before murmuring, "I-I don't know how to go home."

* * *

It was a cold April morning as Izuku pulled a refrigerator with every fiber of his being.

As one is prone to do at 6 in the morning on an abandoned beach.

" **It sure is comfy on this fridge! So peaceful and immobile!** " All Might taunted while perched on the kitchen appliance like an oversized bird.

Izuku gave one last heave before collapsing on his back, panting heavily, "W-why do I need to pull this refrigerator?"

"To put it simply, you're an insufficient vessel for One For All."

"W-what?! Y-you said I was worthy!" Izuku began the waterworks as All Might tried desperately to calm him down.

" **Right now! Only for now! Your spirit is great, but if you tried to use my Quirk as you are, physically, your limbs would explode!** " That made Izuku start screaming as he imagined his arms bursting.

 **"That's why we're training! After you complete my 'Aim to Pass: American Dream Plan', you'll be a proper vessel fit for any Quirk.** " All Might slyly snapped a picture on his phone as he said that.

Izuku nodded in understanding, "So I'll be as strong as you then? Or stronger since One For All stockpiles power?"

All Might sweatdropped, " **Um...in a way, yes.** "

"...what does that mean?"

" **You'll...have my power, but...** "

Izuku was starting to get worried, "A-all Might? Is there something I should know?"

All Might was now sweating profusely, " **W-well...You might have some "kickback" when you use One For All for the first time.** "

"K-kickback?!" Izuku was now imagining his arms ricocheting off his body as he tried to punch something. _Every action has an equal and opposite reaction!_

All Might tried to comfort his student, " **Don't worry about it! For now, let's just work on getting you into shape and fixing this place up!** "

Izuku raised an eyebrow, "Fixing this place? What's wrong with it?"

" **I did some research. Apparently, this place used to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the country. But now it's little more than a junkyard.** " All Might gestured to the miles of trash littering the coast.

Izuku nodded in understanding, "Yea, I heard the currents bring trash from the ocean onto the shore. Then people started dumping stuff here since it was sorta dirty anyways."

All Might nodded, " **Now, even the locals won't come here. Heroes today are all about fame and glory and riches. But being a hero used to mean helping out the community. And what better way to help out the community than by volunteering service?** "

Izuku cheered, thoroughly pumped up, and prepared to start hauling trash again, only to remember something and freeze.

" **Why the hesitation, Young Midoriya? Don't you want to be a real hero?** "

"Y-yea, of course, but I had a question. See I told my mom about my Quirk and she told me I should get it registered, but..."

All Might smiled, " **You don't know how to, do you?** "

Izuku looked down sheepishly and nodded.

All Might clapped him on the shoulder, " **Not to worry, Young Midoriya! Everything with be 'All Might' with me here!** "

Izuku chuckled politely at that, but inwardly, he was questioning ever idolizing this man for that pun.

" **But truth be told, you might want to hold off on registering. Your Quirk, as it is, is fairly different from what One For All can do. Going from Quirkless gives you the chance to basically put anything on the form that you want, but once you're registered as having heightened perception for a Quirk, it'll be difficult to include super strength, speed, and endurance in that.** "

Izuku thought about it and nodded, "Okay, I understand."

All Might asked, " **But speaking of your Quirk, have you found anything interesting about it?** "

A bright look overcame Izuku's face, "Oh yea! I wrote down a bunch of info about it in my notebook. Wanna read it?"

All Might nodded and was subsequently handed a badly burnt notebook titled "Hero Analysis for the Future: Volume 13." _13? What a fanboy._

He flipped to the last written entry and nearly fainted at the sheer number of notes. _Okay Toshinori, just focus on the important stuff._

 _Subject_ _: Izuku Midoriya (I HAVE A QUIRK!)_

 _Quirk_ _: To Be Determined_

 _Known Abilities_ _: Increased perception, predictive ability, insight, and analytical skill. Allows for rapid reaction and strategy against physical threats. Also enables replication of physical moves by observing target. Microscopic/telescoping? vision (range: unknown). X-ray vision?_

 _Activation Method_ _: Triggered by emotional stress. Activates by recollection of that stress (takes a while to activate because of this)._

 _Notes_ _: Can only maintain for ~5 minutes continuously before exhaustion. Recharge rate unknown. Physical mimicry is limited by subject's own ability and requires heavy focus. When active, iris glows slightly. Tomoe spin around pupil when using special skill._

" **Young Midoriya, this is very impressive! I think this will greatly assist Recovery Girl in determining more about your Quirk's origin!** " _He did this all in just one night?!_ " **What do you mean by "replication of physical moves" though?** "

Izuku suddenly blushed and looked down, "W-well..."

* * *

 **Last Night**

"Welcome back to 'Dancing with the Stars'!" Izuku watched the TV excitedly as the announcer got the audience pumped up for the next performance.

* * *

"...mistakes were made."

All Might sweatdropped. _I feel like I should have doubts now._ " **Regardless of that...escapade, the ability to mimic movements has a lot of potential. Like learning a martial art just by observing it. Luckily, our training regimen includes some calisthenics and aerobics to hopefully increase your ability to perform the moves you copy, but I'm glad to see this enthusiasm! Just the kind of thing I want to see from my successor!** "

Izuku smiled, "Thanks All Might. I really appreciate all you're doing for me."

 _This kid's gonna make me cry._ " **Nonsense! I'm happy to nurture the next generation of heroes, especially when it involves my successor!** " _Wait a minute...I'm a genius._ " **Actually, I just thought of something else I can do for you!** "

Izuku waved his hands in front of his face, "N-no seriously, All Might! You've done enough for me!"

" **Sharingan!** "

"...huh?"

All Might explained " **Your Quirk doesn't have a name yet so I'm giving it one! Copy-Wheel Eye: Sharingan!** "

"Sharingan, hmm." Izuku mulled it over and grinned, "Sharingan! It sounds great!"

All Might smiled at his student. Then he looked at his watch and nearly vomited, " **SO MUCH WASTED TIME! Come on, Young Midoriya! We've got a lot to make up before school!** "

With that began Izuku Midoriya's training from hell.

* * *

 **10 months later**

All Might locked his truck as he adjusted his scarf. While walking towards the beach, he heard a scream. _A villain? Here? At this hour?_

Taking off a sprint, All Might prepared to transform, only to stop dead in his tracks.

The entire beach practically sparkled with a complete and utter lack of trash and litter. And atop a large mound of garbage on the edge of the sand stood Izuku Midoriya, screaming - no, roaring - his head off to the heavens above.

All Might was at a loss for words, "He cleaned up outside the area I told him to, and just in time, too! Oh my...oh my... **GOODNESS!** "

The fully transformed All Might dashed towards his protégé in time to catch him as he fell.

Izuku looked at his mentor and weakly stated, "All Might...I did it."

All Might set Izuku down and shook his head with a massive grin, " **No, Young Midoriya. You did even more that. You thoroughly exceeded my expectations! And now I can say with the utmost certainty that you're a proper vessel! Just look at yourself when we started!** " All Might pulled out his phone and showed the picture he took 10 months ago featuring a crying, scrawny boy lying in the sand.

 _Now, that same boy is_... _well he still isn't a man, but he definitely isn't scrawny._

 _Though he still cries a lot._

 _But he isn't lying down in the sand anymore!_

 _Baby steps._

"I know I worked for this, but...I still feel like I cheated somehow." Izuku commented while tiredly juxtaposing his muscular figure to his previous one.

All Might lightly chopped his head, " **Nonsense! There's a monumental difference between being born with a silver spoon and working your butt off for it! Now, the time has come for you to inherit my power!** " All Might plucked a hair from his head.

Izuku smiled and nodded, "I'm ready." _Finally, after all that work...it's finally paying off!_

All Might held out his hair and exclaimed the three worst words in the best possible way, " **Now, eat this!** "

"...eh?"


	2. Goombas, Thwomps & Chain Chomps

_Chapter 2: Goombas, Thwomps & Chain Chomps_

* * *

Izuku Midoriya stood outside the gates to the testing center, barely moving. _Everything I've been through...the last 10 months...everything has been leading to this moment. I can't let everyone down...although I guess 'everyone' is really just Mom and All Might. Oh, and Recovery Girl, too! She's nice...I had a point to this..._

He tried to finish his train of thought, but a walking interruption named Katsuki Bakugou decided to...interrupt, "MOVE YA DAMN NERD! WE'RE GONNA BE LATE!"

Izuku instinctively flinched, "K-kacchan!"

The explosive blonde just shook his head and strutted past with a huff, "Just don't get in my way, got it?"

Izuku nodded furiously, "Got it! Crystal clear! I have never comprehended anything more than your instructio- and he's gone." Izuku sighed. _Even after all this time and everything with the villain last year, he still hates my guts. At least he stopped bothering me at school._

Izuku watched Katsuki walk up the stairs to the testing hall, overhearing some murmurs from fellow examinees who recognized him from last year's news reports. _Although, I guess things haven't been too easy for him, either._

Shaking his head clear of thoughts, Izuku stepped over the threshold of the gates. _Here goes! My very first step in my new life as the future Symbol of Peace._

Then he tripped.

Just randomly.

As one is prone to do.

 _I regret everything._

He braced himself to hit first base with the ground, only to realize he wasn't moving at all. In fact, he was somehow suspended in midair, feeling completely weightless.

"Wha-?!" Izuku screeched in surprise, earning more than a few condescending giggles from the other examinees.

"Sorry for using my Quirk on you without asking first, but I figured it's bad luck to fall before an exam." A friendly, almost saccharine voice sounded from behind him.

Turning around, Izuku was greeted with every teenage boy's best dream and simultaneous worst nightmare: a teenage girl. Specifically, a short one with a brown bob, permanent blush, and massive brown eyes. _Oh no: she's attractive!_

Every neuron in his brain began firing at such speed, he had to double-check that his Sharingan wasn't active. He tried to utter something - anything \- in response, but human speech had utterly failed him. Instead, he tried to communicate through a series of inaudible and panicked exhales.

The girl stared at him for a minute before smiling, "Anyways, let me help you down." She reached for his shoulders and lowered his feet back to the ground. She seemed oblivious to the fact that just touching this boy had both stopped and jumpstarted his heart. Then she tapped her fingertips, "Release," and Izuku felt the force of gravity return.

"Anyways, good luck in there! I'll see you around." She walked away as quickly as she came in and Young Midoriya was both grateful and devastated. However, one truth, one certainty, kept him sane throughout this trying ordeal.

 _I...I...I JUST TALKED TO A GIRL!_ A smile so bright that it put the first Quirk to shame flashed across Izuku's face. _Should I even take the exam now? I feel like nothing could top that._ Then his stomach gurgled, and he remembered what heinous torture he endured to get One For All. And he wasn't thinking about the training. _I didn't eat that hair for nothing. Let's do this!_

* * *

Whatever hope Izuku had for this test going well went out the window when he realized that orientation seating was by middle school.

"Uh, h-hey Kacchan." Izuku muttered as he took his seat next to his volatile classmate.

Bakugou growled in acknowledgement, which was honestly better than Izuku could've hoped for.

Then the lights dimmed, and a booming voice resounded throughout the auditorium, "HEY THERE, MY YOUNG LISTENERS! CAN I GET A YEAAAAAAAA?!"

The silence that followed was deafening.

"NO WORRIES! I'M HERE TO GIVE YOU THE RUN DOWN ON THIS HERE EXAM! ARE YOU READY?!"

This silence was even more so.

Present Mic continued despite the lackluster reception, seemingly drowning out the sounds of a young otaku fanboying in the stands.

"Ohmygod!It'sPresentMic!Ican'tbelievehe'satUA!Thisis-"

Bakugou had enough and he hissed, "Shut the hell up, Deku!"

Izuku's face reddened and he clamped a hand over his mouth, earning a few chuckles from some students around him. _Oh great, I'm already the UA laughingstock and I'm not even a student yet!_

"Excuse me, Present Mic sir?" A loud, serious voice sounded from the back of the auditorium. The student standing up was tall, very well built, and had a serious face to match his voice, "You mentioned three villains, but this sheet clearly states that there are four types. If this is an error, this is a serious oversight, especially for a school as prestigious as UA!"

Then he turned in Izuku's general direction, "And you, stop talking so much! If you think UA is a place where you can goof off while everyone else is trying to learn, then you're better off leaving now."

Izuku tried to sink into his seat, his face red. As the sounds of other students laughing filled his ears, he mentally remarked, _Okay,_ _now_ _I'm the school laughingstock._

Bakugou watched the events unfold before muttering, "Elitist dickhead."

Present Mic grinned, probably at finally having some 'fan interaction', "THANKS FOR BRINGING THAT UP, EXAMINEE 7111-"

Izuku cocked his head. _How does he even know that? Did...did we even get numbered?_

"-THE FIRST THREE ARE THE ONE, TWO, AND THREE POINTERS, YEA? WELL THAT FOURTH ONE IS A ZERO POINTER. THINK OF IT LIKE A THWOMP IN SUPER MARIO BROS. COMPARED TO THE OTHER THREE GOOMBAS. IT'S JUST AN OBSTACLE AND IT'S PROBABLY BETTER TO AVOID IT." _Good luck with that._ Present Mic mentally chuckled.

"JUST REMEMBER TO REPORT TO THE TESTING SITE ON YOUR PACKET IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE WRITTEN EXAM AND BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE RULES LISTED. I DON'T WANNA SEE ANY OF MY YOUNG LISTENERS GETTING IN TROUBLE FOR ATTACKING A FELLOW LISTENER. I'M LOOKING AT YOU, EXAMINEE 3543!"

Bakugou paled, "How the fuck-?"

 _Seriously, when did we get numbers?_

"WITH THAT, I'LL LET YOU ALL GO. JUST REMEMBER TO GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!"

* * *

Finishing the written exam was no sweat for Izuku. After all, when you're a Quirkless teenager with no social life, you tend to spend a lot of free time in the library.

However, waiting in front of the large gates to the massive fake city in front of him and the other examinees was slightly more difficult. Izuku turned to one examinee who was already in the fetal position.

Okay, maybe more than slightly.

"ALRIGHT, YOUNG LISTENERS, WE'RE JUST WAITING FOR A FEW MORE OF YOU TO FINISH UP! REMEMBER, YOU ONLY HAVE 10 MINUTES TO GATHER POINTS!" Present Mic announced to all the battle zones.

Izuku gulped and muttered nervously, "Okay, I've never used One For All, but I remember that All Might said there'd be some kickback. Not entirely sure what that means, but I'm guessing it can't be good. And then I can only use my Sharingan for about 8 minutes continuously before it times out, so I'll need to take breaks every so often to let it rest and max out my time. I guess my best bet is just to use the Sharingan to find the robots' weaknesses and beat them however I can without risking One For All."

Smiling and looking up from his successful brainstorm, Izuku was met with the perplexed stares of many of the other prospective students. _Not again!_

Then he noticed that same girl he "spoke" to out front. _It's the really nice girl. I should thank her properly for earlier._ His strides came to halt, however, when he felt a firm hand clasp onto his shoulder. Turning, Izuku came face to face with the same stern, weirdly tall boy who called him out in front of everyone in the auditorium.

 _Oh crap!_

The taller kid narrowed his eyes, "She's clearly trying to focus before the exam right now. You weren't thinking about interrupting her, were you?"

Izuku shook his head frantically, waving his hands equally so, "N-no! I swear! Ijustwantedtothankherforhelpingmeo-"

"You're not some dummy contender UA hired to trip us all up, right?" How the other boy managed to say that so seriously surprised Izuku such that he couldn't even reply.

"START!" The gates suddenly swung open.

Now everyone was so surprised that they couldn't reply. Present Mic chuckled into his microphone, "WHAT? THERE ARE NO COUNTDOWNS IN REAL LIFE! GET MOVING!"

Izuku turned to the gates, only to find every other examinee already running into the mock city. _Oh no! I'm already behind!_

He ran around the cityscape, desperately searching for a villain robot. _Gotta start searching for points!_ "Sharingan!" Izuku called as he felt the slight itch in his eyes accompanied by the ringing sound he'd so grown to love.

 _Okay I see a lot of people concentrated in the city center. That's probably a bad place to go then; lots of competition. Instead, I'll stick to the edges!_ Izuku thought only to run smack dab into a Three Pointer.

 _Oh crap! Well, I guess I wanted to get points as soon as possible! I can see three weak points in its shell and I'm pretty sure it's power source is right under the missile launchers. It's also really slow and moves predictably. I can do this!_

Only problem: Izuku wasn't moving.

 _Why aren't I moving?!_

The robot started charging the terrified youth.

 _Oh CRAP!_ He averted his gaze and held his hands in front of his face, only to feel a gust of wind as a bright blue beam of electricity shot straight through the robot. He turned to the source of the beam, which was an eccentrically dressed blonde boy with a shit-eating smirk and large eyes that practically sparkled.

"Merci, mon ami. We make quite the team, non? But I'm afraid we'll never meet again. Adieu!" The blonde boy bowed and ran off, presumably to steal more points.

Izuku shook his head. _Dammit, I completely froze up! I need to get it together! Remember where you came from, Midoriya and get a grip!_

Eyes burning with resolve, and also the natural glow of his Quirk, Izuku picked up a sharp metal panel from the fallen robot. _This looks like it'll come in handy. The Three Pointers are supposed to have the toughest armor, so I should be able to use this as a shield, at least._

Izuku kept running until he found another villain, this one a Two Pointer. It immediately launched its scorpion tail at the boy. However, the robot, while faster than the Three Pointer, could not outpace the Sharingan nor the training its wielder went through.

He easily dodged the tail and deflected its follow up with the metal panel. Izuku then rolled to the back of the robot and, with a bit of effort, knocked the tail right off using the panel. He then seized the pointed end with his right hand - his left securely holding his weapon of choice - and buried it into the robot's central console. It immediately sputtered and died.

 _Alright, that's two points!_

"SIX MINUTES AND TWO SECONDS LEFT!"

 _Crap! I need more points fast!_

On cue, a One Pointer rolled around the corner.

 _Huh. It must've been attracted by the sound of me fighting the -_ "Oh crap!" Izuku had to roll out the way as the small robot absolutely barreled right past him.

 _It's a_ _lot_ _faster than the Two Pointer! My Sharingan can't keep up with it! I need to reduce it's mobility._ Noticing the rubber tire it employed, Izuku began charging the robot, sharp end of his panel held outwards. The robot replied in kind, rolling towards its opponent with its metal arm outstretched.

At the last second, however, Izuku slid on the ground and shoved the panel into the tire, bursting it. Simultaneously, he used his legs to push the now-exposed rim up, causing the robot to flip onto its back. _Definitely lighter than All Might!_

With a quick swing of the panel, the One Pointer was decapitated and Izuku tallied another point.

 _That's only three, though. Since the robots are attracted by noise, maybe I should move inwards. That's better than doing the same thing and hoping it works, I suppose._

Izuku gave his Sharingan a break and took off at a sprint, passing several other combatants and robots along the way. _Hmm. I don't wanna steal points from the other examinees. Oh! Those One Pointers are open, but they're too fast for me to counter. I can barely follow their movements as it is. I should try to find Two and Three Pointers instead!_

After Present Mic announced the four-minute mark, Izuku finally found another Three Pointer. _I'm not gonna freeze this time!_ "Sharingan!"

Noting a gap between its armor along its center, Izuku easily dodged its attacks and managed to jump onto it when it stopped to turn. He then shoved the sharp end of the panel down the gap, causing the whole robot to shudder and start sparking.

Then, the missiles started firing one by one. _Oh no! I must've glitched it out._ Then he saw a group of robots approaching him, likely attracted by the sounds of the explosions. _...I can use this._

With all his strength, Izuku twisted the missile launcher towards the group and watched as the ensuing barrage turned the 2 Three Pointers and 3 One Pointers into scrap metal.

He then turned and saw another Two Pointer and One Pointer racing towards him. Shoving the panel the rest of the way through the Three Pointer he had mounted, Izuku leapt off and started moving perpendicularly to the One Pointer. At the last second, he ducked under it, albeit getting glanced by its metal arm.

 _Oh, that's gonna bruise._ He took off towards the Two Pointer, but stopped just short of it. _Right here should be good, assuming I timed this right._ He then turned back towards the One Pointer, which was rolling towards him at even greater speed. _Almost...now!_

Izuku ducked and moved to the side right as the scorpion tail of the Two Pointer shot out, perfectly impaling the One Pointer's head. The broken robot continued to roll right into the Two Pointer, destroying it as well. Unfortunately, Izuku had not timed his dodge well and caught the One Pointer's arm in a more direct fashion.

He groaned, clutching his abdomen, acutely aware of someone else shouting about having 28 points and another remarking how they had 45. _I can't waste time laying around! I only have 18 points. Gotta catch up to everyone else!_

* * *

"Quite the promising pool of candidates this year." Midnight commented to her fellow heroes and proctors, a large number of them watching several screens displaying the different cityscapes.

The Space Hero, 13, added, "Indeed. This environment tends to bring out the absolute best in them. From those who gather intelligence before acting, people who use their mobility and reflexes to navigate the large area, those who can adapt to any scenario on the fly..."

A large boom from one of the TV speakers interrupted 13's train of thought. He chuckled at the sight of a blonde boy panting in a pile of scrap metal, his hands smoking, "And then there are just natural born warriors."

Present Mic grinned and spoke normally, the trademark sign that he was genuinely excited, "This year might have some good students so far, but there's really only one way to know for sure."

He pressed a red button.

* * *

Izuku sprinted past more and more examinees but saw no robots for him to fight. _Oh no! There's no more left! I need to get back to the outskirts as fast as I can; I'm still so behind!_

Then the entire city shook as a building toppled. "What the hell?" Another student exclaimed as everyone's jaw dropped.

 _T-t-that's the Thwomp?! IT'S MASSIVE! What version of Mario does Present Mic play?!_

The Zero Pointer took a brief moment to look at the crowd of teenagers in front of it before slowly rolling forward, its tank-like treads pulverizing all the rubble in its path.

Like any normal person, Izuku started booking it in the opposite direction. _Based on its movements so far, it subtly changes direction towards the nearest moving target. So as long as I'm faster than the slowest person, I'll be safe..._

"O-oww."

Izuku's blood ran cold. He was subconsciously aware of dozens of others passing him by as the gargantuan robot approached, but he had to be sure.

 _As long as I'm faster, I'll be safe. I can't waste All Might's training!_

He turned around slowly, dreading to discover what he already knew.

 _I can't fight that thing! All Might did so much for me! I can't let him down._

Zooming in with his Sharingan, he could distinctly detect a life form struggling under some rubble.

 _It's bad luck to fall before an exam..._

Izuku took off running, charging straight at the Zero Pointer with such fervor that even Katsuki Bakugou would turn tail.

The nice girl managed to pry the rubble off of her with her Quirk, but she visibly struggled to stand up, likely damaging her leg. The Zero Pointer stopped moving forward and slowly lowered its massive arm.

 _It's going to flatten her! But if I get closer than her, it'll immediately switch it's targeting!_ He noticed several piles of rubble that formed a ramp of sorts. _Perfect!_

Izuku jumped from mound to mound and then finally leapt with all his strength, the perfect timing and momentum carrying him squarely onto the robot's 'forearm'. Immediately, it stopped moving towards the nice girl.

 _Okay, I need to use these studs to secure my footing!_ The other examinees watched with gaping mouths as the timid kid they laughed at freeran his way up the Zero Pointer without even thinking about it.

 _If I can get to its right shoulder, it should turn towards me and away from everyone else. Then I can stall until time runs out!_ Unfortunately, the Sharingan's time limit reared its ugly head and Izuku slipped on a stud, his footing off without his increased perception and insight. _Crap! High-intensity usage reduces my time!_ He shut his eyes, fearing the inevitable fall that awaited him.

As he rolled off the side of the robot, towards its torso and a massive drop, Izuku remembered what All Might told him: "You can be a hero!"

 _I...I can be a hero._

" **Clench your buttocks...** "

Izuku forced himself to open his eyes and He used his legs to push off the robot at the last second before he fell, managing to at least get closer to the Zero Pointer's head. Unfortunately, he was definitely too far to grab onto it, but that wasn't the point.

" **...and let your heart cry out...** "

Izuku pulled back his fist as the energy coursing through ripped his sleeve, "SMASH!"

With that, Izuku punched the side of the Zero Pointer's head. And by punch, I mean pulverized.

The massive robot crumpled under the sudden force, practically flying into the building to its left, explosions coursing throughout its body. The examinees went bug eyed. Most of the teachers in the viewing area did too.

Save for one skeletal man who grinned victoriously.

However, Izuku was far from feeling victorious. _My arm! I'm falling!_ He clutched his flapping appendage, tearing up from the vicious pain. _Can't rely on the Sharingan to get me out of this. Even if I land on my feet or roll, I'll probably get paralyzed or die! Maybe I can slow my fall with a New Hampshire Smash, just like All Might!_

He pulled his other arm back and braced himself for the pain. _Okay, 3...2...1, G_ \- "Gah!" _Not as painful, but WOW that stings._

Before he could fire his attack, Izuku was slapped in midair by the same nice girl from before. His descent instantly slowed, coming to a halt a couple of feet above the ground. _I'm...alive?_

The girl lowered the robot head she used to fly to save the falling boy and tapped her fingers together with great effort, exhaustion and nausea catching up to her, "R-release!" The levitating boy promptly hit the ground face-first.

 _Ow, the irony_. Standing up slowly, gingerly cradling his shattered right arm, Izuku approached his savior, "H-hey, are you okay?"

She smiled up at him before clapping her hands over her mouth while her cheeks puffed. Izuku managed to turn just in time not to see anything, although he certainly heard everything. _That's almost impressive._

"U-um...so you're not okay?" Izuku asked, still facing away.

She giggled sheepishly as she slowly landed on the ground and leaned on the robot head, not wanting to put weight on her damaged ankle, "Sorry about that. My Quirk makes me sick if I overdo it. But what about you? That arm looks bad!"

Izuku chuckled sheepishly, "S-sorry about that. I think I over did it, too."

"Huh, I guess we match then!" She exclaimed all bubbly like.

Izuku's face reddened. _Oh god, she's acting cute too! I can't deal with this!_

"I'm Uraraka, by the way. Ochako Uraraka. What's your name?" She smiled at Izuku, only making him more flushed.

He started sweating profusely, "I-izuku M-midoriya. It's n-nice to meet you, Uraraka." Then he remembered how he survived his fall, "O-oh and thanks for...you know...saving my life."

Uraraka chuckled, "I should be thanking you! The way you took down that robot was all BAM and POW and BOOSH! It was so cool! I can't believe someone with a Quirk like yours even needs to take the Entrance Exam. You should be a shoe-in for a recommendation."

"Heh heh, y-you think so, huh?" _She's complimenting me? Now what do I do? I need a distraction like now!_

"Yes, yes. Well done. Here, have some candy. Yes, yes. Good job."

 _Is that..._

Recovery Girl strolled through the crowd of examinees that gathered to see the person who destroyed the Kaiju. She approached Izuku and Uraraka. _Hmph. Looks like you're a suitable vessel for now. Still needs work. I just hope you don't make a habit out of this_.

"Oh dear, your own Quirk did this to you?" Recovery Girl said as she kissed Izuku with those frightening Grandma-lips. _Best not to put any more attention on this kid and let all those other students know we've met before._

"O-oh, thank you!" Izuku said, bowing as his art set itself back with a green glow.

"Oh, it's no trouble. Now, let's see about fixing that ankle, missy."

While Recovery leg kissed Uraraka's leg, Izuku sighed sadly, "Even with all that training, I still didn't get enough points." But he looked at Uraraka, who was already looking at him. She waved, which naturally sent Izuku into a blushing panic. However, he still smiled, albeit sadly. _I guess it was for a good cause though._

* * *

 **One week later**

Izuku stared at the fish eye.

The fish eye stared back.

He examined the subtle way the ocular organ conveyed its sheen, the delicate membrane coating the iris, the subtle browning caused by browning it in the fish oven, the black-like blackness of its pupil, the deep and rich cream-colored-

"Izuku?"

The voice of Inko Midoriya broke the young boy's concentration, "Wha-huh? Mom?"

Inko stared worriedly at her son from across the dinner table, "Why were you staring at your fish? Should I be concerned, honey?"

Izuku laughed nervously, "Sorry, Mom. I think I'm just tired is all."

Dinner continued in relative silence. So did washing the dishes. Even Izuku's post-dinner bicep curls were carried out in unbroken silence.

"Izu-Izu-Izu-Izuku!"

They were carried out, being the operative phrase.

Izuku turned to his mother, who was kneeling and holding out a light blue envelope, "It's here, Izuku! Your letter from UA!"

He looked at the envelope and nodded, taking it into his room and closing the door. His mother paced nervously outside.

Izuku laid the envelope on his desk flat and just looked at it. _This is it. My rejection. I know I did well on the written exam, but with the practical...Everything that All Might worked so hard for...wasted. No wonder he hasn't contacted me since. He probably found out how bad I did._

"Well, time to get this over with." Izuku muttered as he ripped the envelope open. As he did so, a small metal disc fell out and immediately began projecting.

" **I am here AS A HOLOGRAM!** "

Izuku's jaw dropped, "A-All Might?!"

The hologram of the Symbol of Peace laughed merrily, " **Ha ha! You're probably confused as to why I'm in your UA letter right now, but that's because I'm going to be a teacher next year! Isn't that exciting, Young Midoriya?** "

Izuku's jaw dropped even further, "N-no way!" But then he remembered his exam score and looked at the ground again, "Too bad I won't be around to see that."

A voice off-screen muttered something, and All Might sweatdropped, " **Wrap it up? But I have so much more to tell him.** " The voice, likely a producer, muttered something else and All Might sighed, " **Very well. Just make sure to cut this part out. Anyways, Young Midoriya, as you're likely well aware, you passed the written portion, but you only got 18 Villain Points in the practical exam. Unfortunately, that's not enough to pass.** "

Izuku nodded sadly, his eyes welling up. _I knew that already. I_ _knew_ _I didn't get in! So why does this hurt so badly?_

" **Luckily, there's more to it than that!** "

Izuku looked up, "What?"

All Might laughed, " **If you would, please look at this recording!** " He pressed a button on a remote and a screen appeared behind him. He pressed another button and a video feed started.

Izuku immediately recognized Present Mic and, "Uraraka? What's she doing in my video?"

Uraraka approached Present Mic, "Um, excuse me? Mr. Present Mic?"

The Pro Hero turned to the young girl, "What's up, listener?"

She fidgeted, "Um, you know that curly-haired boy? Kinda plain looking? I heard him say that he didn't get enough points. But he only got injured cuz he was saving me. So I was wondering if I could give him some of my points. At least the ones he lost because of me! Please!" Uraraka bowed her head slightly.

Izuku's eyes widened, "She...gave me her points?"

Present Mic just chuckled in the video and placed a reassuring hand on Uraraka's head, "While I love your fiery spirit, young listener, I'm afraid I can't transfer points. But you don't gotta worry about him, believe me."

The video feed shut off and All Might looked straight at Izuku - or at least the camera, " **Inspiring acts of selflessness in others. What kind of hero school would we be if we ignored an ability like that? That's why there's a secret component to the practical exam: Rescue Points!** "

Izuku's heart fluttered. _Wait...is he saying..._

" **A panel of six judges rated you all from 1 to 10 on how heroic your performance in the practical was. And you, young Midoriya, earned** **60** **Rescue Points!** "

"Sixty...points?"

All Might grinned, " **While we're at it, 45 to Ochako Uraraka. This places her at 4th overall and** **you** **, young Midoriya...well, I'll let the leaderboard speak for itself.** "

The hologram changed to the complete list of exam scores. _Where am I?_ Izuku's eyes trailed up and down the list until something clicked. _78 points total...that's above Uraraka...Bakugou got 2nd? Cool! But he had 77 points...which means..._

"Holy shit." Izuku whispered.

All Might's voice sounded, " **Ha ha! Yes, young Midoriya, you got 1st in the exam! Congratulations on getting the top score, my boy!** **That means you pass with flying colors!** "

Izuku's eyes started tearing up and he remembered everything he endured. The years of torment, discrimination, and worst of all, pity. All of that had led to this.

All Might reappeared and extended his hand out, " **Come, young Midoriya. This is your hero academia!** "

On the other end of the door, Inko was about to burst in, the suspense eating away at her. Before she could do so, however, she nearly had a heart attack when Izuku opened the door first and enveloped her in a massive hug, "Mom! I got in! I got the top score!"

Inko gasped with joy, a small waterfall erupting from each eye, "Oh Izuuuuu!"

Then she fainted.

* * *

 **Later that night**

Toshinori Yagi watched the moonlight reflect on the softly rippling ocean surface. The sound of a young couple laughing at a nearby gazebo on the pier filled the air.

 _So peaceful_. Toshinori thought to himself, letting the fresh air fill his damaged lungs.

"ALL MIGHT!"

The disguised Symbol of Peace spat out blood like a geyser, "Who's that?!"

The couple in the background suddenly started yelling, "All Might? Where?"

All Might hissed at Izuku, "Say 'My bad. I was seeing things.'"

Izuku nodded, "Oh, my bad! I was seeing things."

The couple let out a disappointed groan and went back to their date. All Might just sighed. _So much for 'peaceful'._

He held up his hand, "Congrats on making it into UA."

Izuku smiled and high-fived him, "Thanks! Though I was surprised that you're gonna be teaching there, especially since your official office is in Minato Ward-"

All Might lightly chopped his protégé's head, "Stop it."

Izuku rubbed his head sheepishly, "S-sorry."

He then added, "Just so you know, I didn't tell any judges about you being my successor. I figured you'd think that'd be like cheating."

"Oh, thank you."

All Might continued, "I originally planned on coming to UA to find a successor. But since I found you first, I decided to take the job anyways, so I could monitor your progress."

Izuku smiled, but looked down, "You've done, and you're still doing, so much for me. But even after all that training, my arm was useless after using One For All just once. I'm a pretty poor excuse for a successor."

"Nonsense!" All Might chastised, "You only received my power that very day. Even I didn't adjust that quickly! You're only barely capable of containing One For All for now." All Might picked up a few empty cans off the sand.

"But as you grow and temper yourself, you'll be able to control it much better and make it into **a real force for good**." To prove this point, All Might transformed partway through his sentence and crushed the cans.

"Wow, it really is All Might!" The couple behind them cried out.

 _Shit!_ " **Come, young Midoriya! Let's run!** "

* * *

Izuku smiled as he recalled the day's events, strolling home on the sidewalk, guided only by the dull light of the lamp. _Glad All Might and I managed to get away. That could've been bad otherwise._

 _I still can't believe I'm technically the top candidate in my year! Heh, I wonder how Kacchan feels about that._

Turns out, Izuku wouldn't have to wait too long to find out. Because standing right in front of him, only a block away from his house, was Bakugou himself.

Izuku paled, "K-Kacchan? W-what're you doing here?"

Bakugou's face was eerily normal-looking, "Deku...let's talk."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**


	3. Physical Education

**Glad everyone seems to like the story so far! Not much to say besides, enjoy!**

* * *

 _Chapter 3: Physical Education_

* * *

"Deku...let's talk."

Izuku's blood ran cold. _Oh god, he's going to kill me! Is this about the exam?_

Bakugou approached Izuku, taking slow and deliberate steps, "The exam..."

 _It is!_ Izuku's face contorted with panic.

"I saw the results from the practical." The blonde boy stopped only a foot away from Izuku and whispered, his face shadowed by the poor street lighting, "How did you cheat?"

Izuku's terrified expression gave way to one of confusion, "Huh? Cheat?"

A car drove by, its headlights momentarily lightning Bakugou's face.

Needless to say, whatever joy Izuku felt about his day went out the window.

"I said, HOW THE FUCK DID YOU CHEAT?!" Bakugou seized Izuku's jacket and pushed him against a wall, his hands ominously smoking, "THERE'S NO GODDAMN WAY A QUIRKLESS LOSER LIKE YOU COULD'VE BEATEN MY SCORE!"

Izuku started panicking again and he waved his hands, "N-no, wait Kacchan! I didn't cheat I swear! I only beat a couple of robots! You saw I only had 18 Villain Points! And even then, most of those were because one of their missile launchers went haywire! Really, I didn't do that well compared to you! If it wasn't for Rescue Points, I wouldn't have even gotten in! I didn't try to beat your score, I swear!"

Bakugou's hands stopped smoking, implying he was somewhat happier about the situation, but his hold didn't ease up, "Dammit...DAMMIT! I DON'T GIVE A FUCK HOW MANY OF WHAT YOU GOT! I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE ONLY ONE WHO GOT IN FROM OUR SCHOOL! ME!"

He looked down and started shaking, "My plans...RUINED! ALL BECAUSE OF YOU! You just love shoving your nose where it don't belong, don't cha?" Bakugou's mind flashed back to when he fell into a creek as a child. He remembered how he'd laughed it off, but Deku approached him with an outstretched hand and a look.

 _Those eyes...so full of pity. FOR ME?! And again with that villain. Those stupid eyes. Even now..._

Bakugou looked up and sure enough, Deku's eyes were filled with fear, panic, but also a little bit of pity and concern. _Is he okay? I know his ego is bigger than Mt. Lady, but this is worse than normal. I guess he really puts a lot of pressure on himself to be the best._

But Bakugou saw it another way. _Deku..._ _Quirkless_ _Deku...feels bad for me?! Worries about me?!_ "FUCK THAT!"

Izuku yelped as Bakugou's grip tightened and his eyes flared, "LISTEN DEKU, I'M GONNA BE THE NUMBER 1 HERO SOMEDAY, SO STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT AND STOP GETTING IN MY FUCKING WAY!" He threw Izuku to the ground and stormed off in a huff, "Don't let me see you at UA, got it? Or better yet, just drop out altogether. Not like a Quirkless Deku could ever be a real hero."

Bakugou started walking back home, only to stop dead when Izuku shouted, "Kacchan!" Izuku was standing back up, fists clenched tightly. But more impressively, he was staring his childhood friend dead on, mouth set in a determined line, "Someone told me that I could be a hero. It's because of them that I've gotten this far..."

Izuku looked at his clenched right fist and remembered that punch he delivered against the Zero Pointer. He looked back at Bakugou and exclaimed, "I can't let them down now! I have to keep going, whether you want me to or not!"

Bakugou stood in stunned silence before continuing his walk home. Izuku kept up his brave facade until his 'friend' turned the corner and vanished from sight, at which point he promptly deflated, "O-oh wow. I can't believe I stood up to Kacchan. I guess today was pretty good after all."

Meanwhile, Bakugou was lost in thought. _Since when did Deku get the balls to talk back? ...heh. What a prick_.

Then he flashed back to when Izuku offered him that hand up when they were kids or when he shielded Bakugou's body from the Sludge Villain's attacks. And then he reflected on what he said to Izuku earlier that fateful day.

" _Maybe you'll be lucky and be reborn with a quirk in your next life!_ "

Bakugou sighed, looked at his feet, "...shit."

* * *

 **Two Weeks Later**

"You have your pocket tissues?"

"Yea." Izuku knelt down to his laces.

"And your handkerchief? Your hanky?"

"Yea, Mom. I gotta hurry or I'll be late." Izuku finished tying his shoes, smoothed out his uniform, and opened the door.

"Oh, and Izuku?"

Exasperated, Izuku turned from the doorframe and whined, "What?"

Inko just smiled through glossy eyes, "You're really cool."

Taken aback, Izuku smiled gratefully, "I'll see you later."

From his home, it was about 40 minutes by train to UA. The entire ride, he could feel himself shaking, the reality of his situation slowly dawning on him. _I know I've been before to see Recovery Girl, but...I'm about to attend the top hero school in the country!_

Standing in front of the gates certainly felt different this time around. No more waiting for All Might to secure a visitor's badge. Armed with his student ID, that most mighty of weapons, Izuku strolled through the gates with confidence.

Which, for him, means that he didn't trip, cry, fall, spontaneously combust, blush, sweat, die, cry, mutter, or cry.

Okay, he did tear up a little bit.

 _This campus is massive! Okay...Class 1A...where are you?_ Izuku strolled around the hallways of one of the towers, doing his best to follow the signs before he came face to face with a door fitting the campus's size.

 _It's huge! But this says 1A on it._ He took a deep breath. _Okay. The rest of your life begins right now!_ He opened the door. _I just hope Kacchan and that scary guy from the exam aren't in my class. Or that one French guy._

"Get your feet off of that desk! That's disrespectful to the carpenters who slaved over its craftsmanship and to our elders who learned from there!"

 _Well, that's only one out of three. I can handle that._

From inside the classroom, Izuku vaguely heard someone twinkle, "Isn't my belt so magnifique?"

 _Okay...66.7% isn't bad. Besides, those two are mild compared to..._

"Hmph. You talk funny. Where you from, extra?"

 _Oh, crap._

The tall boy with glasses stood up proudly to answer Bakugou, "My name is Tenya Iida. I attended Soumei Academy for junior high. But my family and I are originally fr-"

Bakugou grinned maliciously, "Oh, a Soumei kid? Didn't realize you were an Elite! Maybe I should just blow you away right now and save myself the trouble later."

The tall boy stepped back, completely aghast, "W-what? Are you sure you're trying to be a hero?" Then he noticed Izuku standing - or more accurately, shaking - by the entrance, "Oh, it's you!"

He walked over in a fashion that was also somehow running and gave a slight bow, "I know we met once before, but I am pleased to make your acquaintance again. My name is-"

Izuku sweat a little bit, but bowed in return, "O-oh, I already heard! My name's Izuku Midoriya. Nice to meet you too, Iida."

Bakugou narrowed his eyes, but looked away without giving much acknowledgement.

Some of the people in the classroom who overheard turned towards him now.

"Wait, Izuku Midoriya? Didn't he get the top score on the practical?" Someone with spiky blonde hair with a black streak asked.

A girl with pink hair and skin and two angled horns replied, "Oh, yea! I think you're right. Man, with a point total like that, I bet he's got a crazy strong quirk."

A student with spiked red hair looked like he was about to cry, despite the massive smile on his face, "Wow! I bet he's so manly!"

In the back of the classroom, a kid with evenly split red and white hair, heterochromia, and a large pink scar over his left eye glanced up. He zeroed in on his classmate's target of conversation and narrowed his eyes. _Top score, huh?_

Iida suddenly slammed his fist on his other hand, like a judge's gavel, "Midoriya, you easily ascertained the true purpose of the exam, didn't you? Yet I judged you harshly beforehand. How foolish of me! Please, accept my humble apologies for you are certainly the superior candidate!"

Izuku waved his hands frantically, "N-no, I didn't ascertain anything, I promise!" _I know he's complimenting me, but he's so intense that I still feel scared._

"Oh, it's Izuku."

Izuku turned and nearly turned into a tomato, "U-uraraka!" _First name basis?_

Uraraka smiled, highlighting her natural blush, "Wow! I was hoping you'd get in and then I saw your name at the top of the chart and I was like 'Wow!'"

He looked away with a sheepish smile, "O-oh, well, I should really be thanking you since you went to talk to Present Mic and all."

She cocked her head, "Huh? How'd you know about that."

His face lost all color. _Crap!_

Luckily, a distraction came in the form of a giant caterpillar, "If you're here to socialize, you should just leave. This is the Hero Course at UA, not some public high school in Tokyo."

Everyone slowly turned to face the interruption, looks of confusion, fear, a bit of interest plaguing their expressions.

The caterpillar sighed and began to unzip itself, revealing a tall, lanky man and a large sleeping bag. "It took you a whole 8 seconds to quiet down. Time is precious, and you just wasted mine. You guys aren't too bright, are you?"

Izuku turned his head slightly. _This guy...he looks familiar, but I can't remember from where._

The mystery man pulled out a juice box and in one mighty gulp, finished it and threw it away. "I'm your homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa. Nice to meet you."

The yellow haired kid from earlier chuckled and whispered, "I don't think he means that."

Izuku's brow furrowed. _If he's our homeroom teacher, then he must be a Pro Hero. But I don't remember seeing him on TV or anything. I'll have to check my journals later to be sure._

Aizawa reached inside his sleeping bag and pulled out a blue uniform with white lettering and red trim, "Put these on and meet me out on the practice field."

* * *

All Might peered over the class files, searching for the first sign of Young Midoriya's name. "There! Let's see...Class 1A, nice. Young Uraraka is in there too. I'm sure they'll get along well. Young Bakugou, though, might be trouble based on Young Midoriya's anecdotes. Hmm...but the homeroom teacher is..."

All Might's eyes widened and he nearly spat blood, "Oh shit."

* * *

Aizawa cracked his neck, "Alright. Since you're all finally here, we can start the Quirk Apprehension Test." The class gathered at the training field all sweatdropped.

Uraraka protested, "What? A test on the first day? What about orientation and the school assembly and-"

Aizawa cut her off, "UA gives me a lot of freedom on how to teach. If you want to waste your time on petty stuff like that, feel free to go now. I'll fill out your expulsion form in the meantime."

Uraraka immediately went quiet and even stepped back.

Izuku sweatdropped. _So intimidating!_

Aizawa continued, "You all had to do physicals and fitness tests in junior high, but you could never use your Quirks. Just another example of the subpar government at work. But if I'm going to teach you anything, I need to know where you're all at right now. So you're going to use your Quirks freely to complete all these tests."

He looked at his clipboard, "Hmm...Bakugou, you had the most Villain Points on the practical by a long shot. I want you to throw this as far as you can." Aizawa handed Bakugou a softball with a band of sensors embedded around it.

Bakugou wordlessly took the ball and walked to the throwing circle. He wound up and roared as he threw it with a literal bang, "DIE!"

Izuku paled. _Die?_

The ball rocketed through the air and out of sight, the only indication it landed being a beep on Aizawa's monitoring device. He held it out, "See that? That's a hero score."

A short kid with purple balls protruding from his head nearly shrieked, "705.2 meters? That's insane!"

The pink girl from earlier beamed, "Wow, this kinda looks fun!"

A guy with black hair, a permanent grin, and cylinders on his arm laughed, "And we get to use our Quirks completely! This'll be a breeze."

Aizawa grinned, but it made the room feel colder, "Fun? A breeze? Since you're already taking this so lightly, let's raise the stakes. Lowest score is expelled. Capisce? I, and the rest of this school, are going to beat you down until you can barely move, all to make you better heroes. If you can't withstand that, you're out. That's what it means to go Plus Ultra."

Everyone just stood in shock, save for Bakugou, the half-and-half boy from earlier, and a mature looking woman with spiky black hair. Aizawa then listed off the events and with each pronouncement, Izuku felt his spirits fall.

 _This is bad! One For All is basically a glass cannon right now and the Sharingan's gonna be useless on most of these! Maybe it'll help on the long jump for technique or ball toss for the angle of my throw, but that's not gonna mean anything compared to what some of these guys can do! I just need to power through on my own abilities._

* * *

If only it were that simple.

The 50 meter sprint went decently, but Izuku still placed 10th, right behind some huge guy that inhaled a cinnamon roll before running so hard he cracked the ground. But that still wasn't as weird as the tall girl, who pulled a skateboard from under her shirt and rode that to a comfortable 5.65 second time.

 _I have so many questions I want to ask her!_ He felt the reflexive urge to grab his notebook.

For the grip strength test, he only managed 56 kilograms of pressure. While in the top 10 again, his score was dwarfed by the multi-limbed man's score of 540 kilograms.

 _Okay, I'm not doing bad, but I'm not doing great either. Maybe I can raise my score now, though._ "Sharingan." Izuku whispered. He felt his Quirk activate and he started observing the others who went before him.

"Maybe I can learn something from the others," he muttered while tracing their movements, "I can't shoot a laser beam so that's a no-go. Also can't create explosions so can't copy that. Oh!"

The pink haired girl walked up to the starting line. _If I remember, she did really well in the 50 meter dash. She also looks athletic. Maybe I can find something out from her._

He watched her lead up and jump carefully, even paying close attention to her form in mid-air and her landing. _She's faster than me on the run up to the jump point, but I should actually be able to push off harder than her. And none of her movements were too out of my ability so I can do this! I could even spot the ideal location to jump from so I could surpass her distance, too!_

"Oh, is that your Quirk, Izuku?" Uraraka asked loudly while moving much too close, observing his red eyes. Immediately, much of the class turned towards him, interested in the top candidate's quirk.

Luckily, the surprise made Izuku reflexively deactivate his Quirk, "W-wha?" _She's so close to me! And everyone keeps trying to measure me up! And I could honestly go without Kacchan blowing up at me again...wait did I ever even tell him I had a Quirk?  
_

On cue, Bakugou also looked at Midoriya, albeit more so because he was confused about what drugs Uraraka was taking. "Deku's Quirkless, dumbass."

Izuku sweatdropped. _No, I did not._

Iida raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about, Bakugou? Did you not hear about Midoriya's feat against the Zero Pointer in the exam?"

"Eh? What're you talking about, extra?"

Before the argument could progress, Aizawa interrupted, "Midoriya, you're up."

Izuku walked up to the line and activated his Sharingan while lining up his jump. _Well, nothing to do except pray he doesn't see them. Heh, I don't need to get emasculated on my first day at school.  
_

He inhaled deeply before taking off at a sprint and leaping at the perfect moment. He soared through the air with perfect form, and even landed gracefully. He looked at the ruler next to the sand pit where he landed and smiled, "Yes!"

 _Not too bad! I'm definitely in the Top 5!_

* * *

He wasn't.

The guy with multiple limbs/tentacles used the membranes connecting his arms to glide over the pit with surprising grace for someone so large. The large guy ate a brownie this time and jumped over the pit entirely. The person with the ice-Quirk just created an ice bridge and walked over the pit.

 _Crap! I know I'm passing, but..._ Izuku looked at Bakugou, who was already glaring at him. He reflexively stepped back, but maintained eye contact, despite the trembling in his hands and the sweat pooling down his brow. _Just don't look away. Remember: you have two Quirks now! You're at UA now so don't be afraid to stare back at him!...this is a weird pep talk.  
_

The repeated side steps went about as well as Izuku could've hoped; despite trying to mimic the pink girl again, he ended up getting dizzy and falling on his butt, earning the second worst score, only above the multi-limbed guy who basically just shuffled from side to side like an awkward middle school dance.

 _Sucks that he's so big, he basically straddled the area that Aizawa-sensei gave us._

The ball throwing was where Izuku's nerves got the better of him, especially after seeing Uraraka throw an infinity. _Everyone has at least one incredible score and after my last event, I need all the points I can get! Even if it breaks my arm, I need to do this!_

So when Izuku got called to the plate, he immediately whispered, "Sharingan," and started charging up One For All.

Uraraka whispered, "Izuku's not doing so well, is he? At least compared to what his score was."

Iida commented, "Yes, but am very intrigued to see Midoriya's performance in this event given the power he displayed in that attack against the Arena Trap. Although it did damage him severely so perhaps he has been saving that strength."

Bakugou just stared at the two in complete disbelief. _Please. Deku only passed cuz of those stupid Rescue Points. He doesn't have what it takes to pass this test._

Meanwhile, Izuku was marveling at himself. _Wow. I can actually see my own life force getting brighter and brighter with my Sharingan as I charge One For All!_ He pulled his hand back and started the wind up. _The ideal angle for distance is 45 degrees so I need to move my hand in exactly_ _this_ _way to get that done._ Izuku visualized his throw and with his natural Quirk's ability, executed it. _Egg in the microwave...Shorten the cook time...lower the wattage._

His arm rippled with red and green lines, electricity crackling through his veins. _I can feel it! It's not as bad as before!_ However, right as he threw the ball, he felt the floodgates open and the full force of his second Quirk rushed into his arm. _Crap!_ Izuku thought as he threw the ball...

46 meters.

His face dropped, "W-what?!" _No way!_

Bakugou smirked and turned to Iida, "See? Quirkless Deku."

However, Aizawa settled the debate then and there by wrapping his scarf around Izuku and pulling him closer, "I erased your Quirk." Izuku noticed his teacher's eyes were glowing red and his hair was standing up. And that with the scarf unfurled, Izuku saw that Aizawa had a pair of yellow goggles around his neck.

Then it clicked, "Y-you're Eraserhead! An underground hero!" Izuku exclaimed, surprised at the development.

While his classmates mumbled about the revelation, Aizawa spoke loudly and harshly, "You know why I called for Bakugou to do the demonstration and not you? Because if it were up to me, you'd never have gotten the top score."

Izuku paled, "H-huh?"

Aizawa continued, "Your perception and analysis against the small fries was impressive, sure, but half of your Villain Points were from dumb luck and a glitchy robot. You didn't even use your Quirk! If it were up to me, you wouldn't have gotten those 9 points.

"And you destroyed that giant robot, sure. But in the process, you not only destroyed a building, but you trashed your arm. If Uraraka hadn't saved you, you'd probably have died or messed up your body further with your Quirk. I don't need amateurs who can't control their Quirks in my class."

Bakugou's eyes narrowed with each word. _Is he seriously saying that Deku has a quirk? Has he been lying to me all these years?_

Aizawa procured another ball and handed it to Izuku, his eyes returning to normal as his hair set and he rewound his scarf, "You can try once more. Go all out and destroy your chances in the next three events or hold back and not get a single hero-level score."

Izuku was left stunned and silent. Iida and Uraraka watched solemnly. The latter spoke first, "Looks like Aizawa-sensei really tore into Izuku. I hope he figures something out.

Iida nodded, "If Midoriya is unable to somehow live up to Aizawa-sensei's expectations for this event, I fear that he may face severe consequences."

"If he can't control his Quirk, though, it might be best if he didn't progress any further, as harsh as it sounds." Everyone turned to look at the speaker: the tall girl with the spiky ponytail, "In this line of work, you can't rely on others to pick up your slack. You need to be a self-sufficient hero on your own. And if using his Quirk once really damaged him as much as Aizawa-sensei says it did, then he might simply not be able to be a hero."

Izuku felt his heart sink as he overheard his new classmates speak. _What do I do? I wasn't able to pump the brakes on One For All on my last throw, but if I don't use it, I'll be the only student without at least one crazy high score!_

"Sharingan." Izuku muttered as he began charging One For All, watching how the power grew in his right arm. _I can literally see it with my Sharingan. It's like electricity...wait a minute...what if I use the Sharingan to visually gauge how much I put into One For All?!_

Izuku concentrated on pulling back his power, feeling the energy decrease in intensity, as well as seeing the glow of his arm drop in luminosity. _Okay, that looks good. The bright light's only about half as much as it used to be. And maybe, to minimize the damage, just in case..._

He wound up and tossed the ball with all his might. But the second the ball was about to leave his grasp, he shifted all of One For All into his hand and roared, "Smash!"

The softball shot off into the sky, producing small airbursts with its incredible speed. Izuku smiled, but immediately clutched his hand, which was slightly red and appeared a little misshapen.

 _Dammit! 50% is still way too much! I wanted to put in all into my index finger but using the Sharingan to adjust my trajectory made it too hard to also shift One For All at the same time. But I can tell: this isn't nearly as bad as before. I have a few fractures, but_ , "Aizawa-sensei!"

Aizawa turned from the score of 535.5 meters and looked at his student, who wore a pleased grin, "I can still move!" He clenched his fist slightly to prove it.

The underground hero just stared at the kid for a while. _He localized the power into his hand instead of his arm. Furthermore, it doesn't look bloody or limp like it did against the Arena Trap. He not only reduced the area of damage, but he managed to regulate his power on the fly!_ "This kid..." Aizawa just grinned.

Uraraka cheered while Iida nodded repeatedly. Even the tall girl seemed slightly taken aback, "Huh. Never mind then."

Bakugou, however, looked someone just told him his puppy died...as they killed it in front of him. _D-deku has a Quirk?_ _Quirkless Deku_ _has a Quirk?!_

Then Izuku turned back to the students and Bakugou saw those red eyes, the tomoe still spinning.

"DEKU!" Bakugou shot off towards his classmate, blinded by his rage/insecurities, "WHAT?! YOU THOUGHT YOUR QUIRK WAS SO COOL THAT YOU KEPT IT HIDDEN? IS THAT IT?! I DON'T NEED YOUR PI-GAH!" Bakugou suddenly felt the familiar heat in his palms vanish as several strands of suspiciously hard cloth wrapped around his body, locking him in place.

Aizawa's glowing eyes glared, "Cut it out. Another outburst like that and you're expelled. Got it?" He then released Bakugou and deactivated his Quirk, dropping some liquid into his eyes, "You kids are gonna be the death of me; my Quirk gives me serious dry-eye."

 _But his Quirk is so cool!_ Everyone sweatdropped at the revelation of his weakness.

Bakugou glared at Izuku again but turned away in a huff. Izuku looked back, his heart still racing from when he thought Bakugou was gonna flatten him.

Aizawa sighed, "Now that that's done, let's keep going. Yaoyorozu, can you make a splint for Midoriya?"

The tall girl, Yaoyorozu, nodded before pulling a hand brace out from under her shirt. She walked over to Izuku and sternly asked, "Would you like some help putting it on?"

Izuku's face was redder than his eyes due to her close proximity, but he managed to squeak, "Y-yes, please."

Choosing to ignore his timid behavior, she softly wrapped the brace around his right hand and secured it snugly, "All done."

Izuku examined the splint, "W-wow! T-thank you, Yaoyorozu!"

She gave a soft smile, breaking her serious facade, "Of course. As classmates, it's important we support each other." _And I might've spoken too harshly._ Then she walked back to the crowd, loosely followed by Izuku.

"Midoriya, that result was most impressive!" Iida pronounced, chopping his hands rapidly.

Uraraka bubbly nodded, encroaching on her new friend's space, "Yea, that ws so cool! You were all 'SMASH' and then the ball went 'WOOSH' and-"

Izuku zoned out the second she started talking and started blushing again. _I need to stop associating with pretty girls. It just doesn't end well for me._

In the background, behind a nearby building, All Might watched the scene with a smile. _I was worried about you, Young Midoriya, but WOW, do you love crushing my expectations. When did you become so cool?_

All Might also noticed his pupil's red face and the Uraraka's poor awareness of personal space. _And popular with the ladies, too? You never cease to amaze me!_

* * *

The rest of the events fared moderately well for Izuku. The seated toe touch was easy since he did so much agility training while learning to use his Sharingan. He scored fifth, behind Yaoyorozu, the boy with the tail - Izuku suspected it was due to his martial arts background based on how he 'Kya'd' every time he did anything - the frog girl, and the same pink girl he copied so much.

He actually excelled at the sit-ups, managing to finally place in the top three, only behind Yaoyorozu and the guy that looked like he was split in half.

The pull-ups, however, were a different story. Despite the brace, he couldn't use his right hand at all and he had to do the exercise with one arm. He only beat out the kid with purple balls on his head after totally exhausting himself.

Finally, the endurance run came around and Izuku was able to reclaim his momentum by placing fifth. _If my hand wasn't throbbing so much, I probably could've done a lot more. I wasn't even that tired!_

At the end, Aizawa gathered everyone and showed the results on a screen. Izuku feared the worst, but nearly sobbed when he saw his name in 12th place. _I made it!_ _But Kacchan got third...dammit, I'm still behind him!_

A high-pitched shriek interrupted Izuku's giddiness, "I'M GONNA BE EXPELLED! AND I HAVEN'T EVEN COPPED A FEEL YET!"

Izuku sweatdropped at the purple ball-haired kid's choice of words, "I guess that's Mineta."

Iida nodded vigrously, "How tragic to be expelled on his very first day of high school. Truly, UA earns its title as the premier hero course!"

"By the way, I lied about the whole expulsion thing."

* * *

After sending off his - justifiably - peeved class to change, and Midoriya to Recovery Girl afterwards, Aizawa walked back to the homeroom, only to hear a familiar - and his opinion, annoying - laugh.

" **Ha ha ha! Aizawa, you said the expulsion threat was just a trick, but April Fool's was last week!** "

Aizawa sighed, "What do you want, All Might?"

All Might sweatdropped at the rude reception, but continued, " **You've expelled over 100 students in your career at this school. So pray tell, why the sudden change in modus operandi?** "

Eraserhead shrugged, "The only one I actually would've expelled was Midoriya, but he managed to improve my opinion of him. Slightly."

" **Ha! Then you see it, too! Young Midoriya's potential is overflowing!** "

Aizawa's eyes narrowed, "...too?"

All Might immediately sweatdropped, " **I-it's just that he only recently learned he had a Quirk - so I hear - and to see him improve so quickly is rather impressive, no?** " _Haha! Nailed it! All Might, you're too smooth._

 _Something's up...whatever._ "If that's true, then I'll admit I had him pegged wrong. And I won't say he's completely devoid of potential, but regardless of his scores, he's still a glass cannon. And I won't humor anybody like that. The only thing crueler than stomping out a dream early is letting it continue too long." His mind flashed to a broken body under the rubble of an overpass.

 _I won't accept anything like that again._

* * *

 **Later That Day**

"Midoriya! Is your hand healed?" Iida called as they crossed the UA gates to go home.

Izuku turned and smiled, "Oh, Iida! Yea, Recovery Girl healed it in a few seconds, flat. I just have to keep the brace Yaoyorozu made for the rest of the day and I should be good as new."

Iida smiled, "Good. I'm pleased to hear that you weren't permanently injured! Such a tragedy on your first would only serve to sour your high school experience."

Izuku laughed sheepishly. _I thought Iida was kinda mean and scary, but he's just really genuine and earnest. I can appreciate that._

"Hey, Deku!"

Izuku nearly vomited as he turned in a panic, "K-Kacchan?" _His voice sounds way higher than it used to!...and more feminine...and boucnier...that wasn't Kacchan._

As luck would have it, it was just Uraraka, "Huh? Kacchan? Isn't that your name for Bakugou?"

Izuku chuckled sheepishly, "Y-yea. Sorry, but he's really the only one who c-calls me Deku so I thought it was him."

"Huh...why Deku? Is that some sort of inside joke?"

"W-well, it's sort of a different way to read the kanji for my name and it means 'useless' so..."

Uraraka flinched, "Oh! I thought that was like a friendly nickname or something! Sorry about that."

 _What part of our interactions seemed friendly?_ Izuku sweatdropped.

But then she bounced up and grinned, "But I kinda like the sound of it, ya know? Sounds like dekiru. Has a real 'never give up' kinda vibe, ya know?"

"YOU CAN CALL ME DEKU!" Izuku's cheeks flared up and a smile ripped across his face. _I feel REBORN!_

Iida gasped, "Midoriya! You shouldn't give into peer pressure so quickly!"

Izuku buried his face in his hands and muttered, "I don't know what's happening anymore. There's so many people talking to me right now."

And that was the moment Izuku realized he had friends.

* * *

The next day seemed almost insulting compared to the first one. Instead of an emotionally and physically grueling exam, the students of Class 1A had to endure the very worst thing imaginable to a high school student: learning.

Even Present Mic, with his infectious enthusiasm and perma-grin, couldn't bring life to 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.'

Izuku certainly wasn't helped by the fact that Mineta, who sat behind him, kept whispering how awesome it was that 'The R-Rated Hero: Midnight' was their biology teacher.

"Seriously, Midoriya! Just imagine how hot it'll be when she covers...meiosis!" Mineta shuddered in delight, leaving one very flustered greenette contemplating his life choices.

But after lunch, everyone in the class was excited because their schedule listed, in **bolded** lettering: 'Battle Training!'

And the teacher for that day's session was, " **Coming through the door like a normal person!** "

All Might - clad in his Silver-Age costume complete with flapping and entirely useless cape - appeared in a flash, leaning into the classroom while gripping the doorframe behind him for support.

There was a moment of stunned silence before the class erupted into cheers.

"All Might-sensei! You're so cool and manly!" The spiky-haired boy exclaimed.

The twinkling boy sparkled, "Ooh. Monsieur All Might-sensei's cape is oh magnifique."

And despite having seen All Might almost daily for a year, even Izuku was swept up by the class's fervor, "All Might-sensei! I'm your biggest fan!"

All Might let out a booming laugh, " **Ha ha! I'm glad to see that you're all excited! I'm certainly excited myself to be your teacher so let's all get along! But how about we just jump right into it?** " All Might pressed a button on the teacher's desk, causing a section of the left wall to extend outwards, revealing four columns of five suitcases, each numbered 1 through 20.

" **These are the costumes you specifically requested! We had our support company use the information you provided and what we found from the Quirk Registry build you the perfect outfits! Please put them on and meet me on Ground Beta!** "

While everyone else swarmed their suitcases, eager to see their very own supersuits, Izuku stayed at his desk to open his backpack first and pull out an old grocery bag, carefully tied so as not to free the precious cargo inside. Then he gathered his suitcase and went to the locker room.

 _This represents my mom's faith in me. I can't wear anything else!_

* * *

So with that, Izuku finished putting on his costume - featuring his mother's homemade jumpsuit and the support company's mask and padding - and walked out with his classmates, while All Might whistled and complimented them, " **Nice! You all look like proper heroes!** "

Then he noticed Izuku's mouth guard and rabbit ears, " **So obvious!** " _But the light green and white combo is an...interesting choice._

He cleared his throat, " **Anyways, we'll be conducting battle trials in teams of two. One group will play the role of heroes, while the other will play as villains.** "

All Might pulled out a cheat sheet, much to everyone's amusement, " **Ahem. The scenario is that the villains have a nuclear warhead somewhere in the building to my left. The heroes have to infiltrate the building and secure the weapon and/or capture the villains. The villains will receive a 5 minute head start while the heroes get 15 minutes to complete their objective.** "

The Symbol of Peace then pulled out his phone, " **I've already used a random number generator to assign teams. They are as follows:**

 **"Team A: Izuku Midoriya and Ochako Uraraka."**

Uraraka cheered and got too close to Izuku, again, "Yay! We're on the same team! Must be fate."

Izuku looked away with a wicked blush but nodded.

" **Team B: Shoto Todoroki and Mezo Shoji.**

 **"Team C: Minoru Mineta and Momo Yaoyorozu.**

 **"Team D: Katsuki Bakugou and Tenya Iida.**

Bakugou raised an eyebrow, "Who?"

Iida just gasped, affronted.

 **"Team E: Mina Ashido and Yuga Aoyama.**

 **"Team F: Rikido Sato and Koji Koda.**

 **"Team G: Jiro Kyoka and Denki Kaminari.**

 **"Team H: Fumikage Tokoyami and Tsuyu Asui.**

 **"Team I: Mashirao Ojiro and Toru Hagakure.**

 **"Team J: Ejiro Kirishima and Hanta Sero."**

All Might took a deep breath. _That was a lot!_ " **And these lottery machines will decide the match-ups!** " All Might gestured to two lottery ball drawing machines labelled 'Hero' and 'Villain,' respectively.

Izuku started sweating. _Just not Kacchan's team. Anything but Kacchan's team!_

He picked out the first set, " **Looks like Round 1 is Team A vs. Team D!** " _Oh, shit...sorry, Young Midoriya._

Izuku nearly fainted.


	4. Fated Battle

**Welcome to the first official change in the MHA canon!**

 **Besides the very premise my story's built on.**

* * *

 _Chapter 4: Fated Battle_

* * *

Izuku tapped his hand nervously, muttering so furiously, the author couldn't even condense it into written language.

"D-deku?" Uraraka asked, smiling despite the sweatdrop, "You okay?"

Izuku broke out of his stupor and chuckled sheepishly, "Sorry about that. I guess I'm just nervous about facing Kacchan."

Uraraka nodded understandingly, "I guess I can't blame you. He bullied you, right?"

He nodded slowly, but smiled regardless, "Yea. I've always been behind him. Always scared of standing in his way. His Quirk is crazy strong, and his battle instincts are probably the best in the year. But beyond that, he's just the most driven person I've ever met! I think about how powerful he is and how focused he is...I just can't help but feel inspired!"

Izuku turned to Uraraka with a thrilled grin, "That's why today, I don't wanna lose!" Then he blushed, "O-oh! Sorry to put that all on you!"

"No it's good! We're a team after all!" Uraraka grinned back at him, "So it's like a fated battle between men?"

"W-what?"

She just laughed at his meek reaction, "Anyways, you have any ideas on what we can do?"

Izuku nodded and whipped out his trusty notebook, "These are the notes I took on Kacchan throughout the years. And in the back, I have a few notes on Iida from watching him during Aizawa-sensei's exam."

Uraraka smiled at first, but quickly paled when she realized that Iida's 'few notes' amounted to several pages more stuffed than her freezer during a mochi sale. _So thorough!_

"Uraraka," She looked up at her partner, "your Quirk cancels out gravity, right?"

Uraraka nodded, "Yea. If I touch something with my fingertips, I can make it weightless. But I can really only lift three tons."

Izuku sweatdropped. _That's a lot_..."Well, I was thinking that since Iida's Quirk is all about speed and mobility, if you're able to use your Quirk on him, we'd get a major advantage."

"Yea, that would work! But what about you, Deku? What does your Quirk do exactly?"

 _I haven't prepared for this! I can't just say I have two Quirks!_ "O-oh. I, uh, have enhanced perception and strength and stuff. Oh, and I can trace people's movements and predict what they're going to do." _Please buy it, please buy it, please buy it!_

Uraraka smiled curiously, "Oh wow! So your eye's changing color is just a part of that?"

 _She bought it!_ Izuku nodded, "But I can only use it for about 8 minutes straight, so I'll need to ration it out. And then I get hurt when I try to use my super strength."

Uraraka scratched her head, "Huh, and your Quirk's so strong that you might accidently damage the building or the bomb and that wouldn't be good. Especially since we're supposed to pretend like we're in a real city. I guess we should try to keep fighting to the higher floors to avoid destroying the foundation below."

Izuku raised an eyebrow, "Wow, Uraraka. You seem pretty knowledgeable about this kind of stuff."

She scratched her head, "Well, my parents are construction workers so I kinda learned a couple of things along the way. Anyways, our time's almost up so let's get ready!"

She started bouncing excitedly near Izuku, which wasn't helping the poor boy given the - ahem \- design of her bodysuit.

" **Hero Team, you may enter! 15 minutes on the clock, staring now!** " All Might proclaimed from the viewing center.

Izuku immediately called, "Sharingan!" His eyes lit up and the familiar slow-down effect appeared, "I can see them on the fifth floor."

Uraraka awed, "Wow! You can see through walls, too? That's incredible!"

Izuku blushed and chuckled while turning off his Sharingan, "Just living things. Anyways, you think you can lift us both to the sixth floor?"

She looked down, "Sorry, but I can't make myself float that long. Only a couple seconds at most."

Izuku smiled, "No worries. We'll just have to work our way up, then."

Uraraka made her partner float so he could climb to the second story window and carefully slide it open. She then jumped with the spring-loaded heels in her boots and grabbed his hand, getting pulled up onto solid ground.

Izuku activated his communicator and whispered, "These mics are super sensitive, so they should pick up our voices, even when we're quiet. This way we can avoid making loud sounds."

Uraraka nodded and activated hers as well, "Can you see if Iida or Bakugou have moved at all?"

Izuku reactivated his Sharingan, "They're still up there. They kinda look like they're arguing, though." _No doubt because of Kacchan._

Uraraka smiled again, her infectious can-do attitude lightening the tense air, "Then we need to move! Let's go!"

The hero team quietly worked their way up to the third floor, making heavy use of the supplied blueprints to navigate the mazelike corridors and halls.

"Any change?" Uraraka asked?

Izuku checked again, but paled, "It's only Iida!" _It's been only been a few minutes! What happened?_

Uraraka's heart quickened, "Where's Bakugou?"

"I'm looking!" Izuku quickly scanned the building. _Where is he? Where is he? Where? Where? Wh-_

"Uraraka, get down!"

Izuku practically tackled his partner, just in time to avoid Bakugou swing around the corner and unleash a sizeable explosion. "DEKU!"

Uraraka groaned as she sat up but gasped at the sight of Deku's torn mask and slightly red skin, "Deku! Are you alright?"

He nodded, "I'm fine. You should try to get to Iida. He's probably standing guard of the bomb. I knew Kacchan would come for me, so I'll stay behind to stall him!"

Bakugou grinned maliciously, "Nice dodging, Deku, but don't get ahead of yourself!"

Uraraka wanted to protest, but she remembered the fire in his eyes when they were waiting to enter, "Got it! Keep me posted!" She ran towards the stairs to the fourth floor. Like Izuku predicted, Bakugou didn't even move to stop her, much less glance in her direction.

Instead, he was transfixed on Izuku's glowing red eyes, the tomoe slowly ceasing their rotation, "That's your Quirk, huh Deku? Doesn't matter! It's still nothing compared to me!"

* * *

The spiky-haired redhead protested, "A sneak attack! Bakugou's so unmanly!"

The pink girl laughed, "But man, that Midori sure can dodge! No surprise, though. He was pretty acrobatic yesterday."

Yaoyorozu shook her head, "But he sent away Uraraka despite their strength in numbers. Does he have a plan?"

All Might instinctively gripped his microphone tighter as he saw the scene unfold. _Young Midoriya, I know how much this means to you, but turning this exercise into a grudge match is bound to get you hurt!_

* * *

Bakugou charged at Izuku, swinging his right arm in a mighty haymaker. _Since One For All could kill him and I don't have the time I need to regulate it, I need to rely on my base strength. Normally, I'd only be able to flip him, but with my Sharingan..._ "

"Kacchan, I know from analyzing the heroes I think are awesome, that-" Izuku dashed forward and seized Bakugou's arm, securely locking his opponent's bicep against his own chest. "-you always lead with a right hook!"

Izuku rotated his hips slightly, pulling Bakugou with him. Then, he used the narrow corridor to his advantage by pushing off with his foot against the wall behind him. This sent him and Bakugou into the wall in front of Izuku, where he made sure that his shoulder thoroughly sandwiched Bakugou's stomach with the concrete. Bakugou coughed, completely winded.

 _Kacchan's stunned! Let's keep this up!_ Izuku delivered a few strong punches to Bakugou's jaw and temple before seizing his tank top and flipping Bakugou over his shoulder.

However, at the last moment, Izuku jumped into the flip, speeding it up slightly, but also adding Izuku's own weight onto the attack, with Bakugou once again sandwiched between his childhood friend and a hard place.

Izuku scrambled up and took a few deep breaths, winded at his own onslaught. He watched Bakugou cough and groan, his face curled into an even more impressive scowl.

"K-kacchan, I told you someone said I could be a hero. Well now, someone else told me something just as important. From now on, I'm the 'Deku' that never gives up!"

"D-deku!" Bakugou groaned weakly.

* * *

All Might's jaw was on the floor. _Man, Young Midoriya...you are seriously awesome!_

The redhead was laughing, "Holy crap! That was one of the manliest things I've ever seen!"

The boy with the big mouth and cylindrical elbows chuckled too, "That was pretty cool!"

However, the frog girl stared curiously, "But Bakugou doesn't look all that hurt."

* * *

Izuku regained his breath, "Kacchan, I know I said I didn't wanna get in your way, but..." He grabbed his fallen 'friend's' arm and pulled it up, placing his red shoe over the bare shoulder in a hold, "...I take it back!"

 _In this hold, I can easily dislocate Kacchan's arm and then he can't fire explosions from it! It's a little brutal, but without being able to control One For All, it's the best I can do!_

However, he felt the arm shift slightly and before Izuku knew it, he was sent flying back a dozen feet, his chest burning.

"You sure love monologuing, dumbass!" While his opponent struggled to stand, Bakugou got up, his face positively seething with rage, "So, Deku, you think you're at my level? Don't make me laugh!"

Bakugou fired another explosion towards Izuku, sending the smaller boy back a few feet with some fresh burns, "YOU AND I AREN'T EVEN PLAYING THE SAME GAME, DAMMIT!"

* * *

Uraraka tiptoed to the nearest column, peering out slowly behind her to watch as Iida stood guard in front of the black and red paper-mâché bomb. For the seemingly dozenth time, she heard the muffled BOOM of Bakugou's Quirk on the third floor.

 _I hope Deku's okay! It sounds really nasty down there._

Iida yelled into his communicator, "Bakugou! What's going on? Bakugo?!" Iida growled in frustration, "Darn him! Running off on his own to confront them! But perhaps...maybe that's just how he embodies the role of a villain..."

Iida rubbed his chin - or at least the chin of his helmet - while Uraraka silently laughed nervously. _I think Iida's trying to find meaning where there isn't any._

The armored speedster stood up and tall and exclaimed, "If that's the case, then I must similarly adopt a villain's persona! Mwa ha ha ha!"

The overzealous laugh was too much and Uraraka burst out laughing, much to her later chagrin.

"Oh! Uraraka? It appears you slipped past my henchman's defenses! But no matter! I, a villain, will end your reign of goodness and joy today! Mwa ha ha ha!"

Uraraka couldn't help but burst out laughing again, but quickly composed herself. _I gave myself up! I'll have to do my best to hit him with my Quirk or at least stall him until Deku gets here!_

Uraraka took off at a run, madly charging the bomb. However, Iida quickly picked it up and zoomed to the other end of the room, "Ha ha! Sorry, Uraraka, but you'll have to be faster than that!"

 _Dang it! I can't get close to him without him speeding off! Deku's notes mentioned something about 'gears' but...I got it!_ With that, Uraraka charged Iida again.

* * *

Izuku gasped for breath, hiding behind a wall as Bakugou searched for him. _This is crazy! I can't get any openings on him if he keeps using his explosions to block my line of sight!_

"Deku!" Bakugou taunted, "Come on! I thought you said you never give up!"

Izuku grit his teeth. _I want to look for him, but there's still seven minutes left and I only have four or five minutes on my Sharingan! I need more time to recharge before I-_

"FOUND YOU!" Bakugou roared as he popped out from another hallway about 20 feet away.

"Crap! Sharingan!" Izuku cried as he readied himself for the inevitable onslaught. Bakugou charged but propelled himself up and over Izuku with a series of three quick explosions. _That was too fast for the Sharingan! And he's changing his style on the fly, so my old notes are useless! Get away, get away!_

Izuku made a desperate attempt to jump forward, away from his assailant, but felt a white-hot burn as Bakugou fired another explosion right at his back. Then, while he was still down from the pain, Bakugou struck Izuku with his right gauntlet, "HERE'S THAT HOOK YOU TOLD ME SO MUCH ABOUT, DEKU!"

The greenette fell to the ground, pain echoing throughout his body. _I need to use One For All! I can't let myself lose to Kacchan. Not this time!_

Izuku started charging his second Quirk, feeling that familiar rush of power. He looked at his gloved hand, the white fabric faintly glowing from the energy beneath. _Kacchan's coming; no time to control the output. I'll focus it all in my palm to minimize the damage and use a Texas Smash to push him away!_

Bakugou growled, "What? Still think you're so much better than me? SHOW ME THAT POWER, DAMMIT!"

He prepared to fire another explosion at the fallen Izuku's back, only for the latter to turn quickly and hold out his hand. Bakugou suddenly realized he'd been baited once he saw the hand glow brightly, despite the glove covering it.

"SHIT!" Bakugou held his left forearm up to defend just in time for Izuku to hit him with a palm strike.

"Texas Smash!" Izuku fully concentrated One For All into his right palm and pushed it with all his might. The glove immediately ripped apart, electricity swarming Izuku's hand.

Bakugou paled as his gauntlet shook violently, lightning arcing from his opponent's hand and painfully shocking the former. Then, the gauntlet burst open and the incredible wind pressure from Izuku's attack pushed Bakugou into the wall across the hall, cracking the concrete.

Izuku smiled, but quickly clutched his hand in pain, the top layer of his palm's epidermis completely ripped away. _I should run...This is my chance..._

Izuku turned away from his former friend but didn't move any further. His hands were shaking, and not from the pain. _I...I don't want to run anymore!_

He looked back at Bakugou, who was slowly getting up, his left arm bleeding and small burn marks littered across his body from One For All's electricity. _I need to finish this!_

"Kacchan!"

Bakugou looked up and grit his teeth.

Izuku steeled himself, "I'm not going to run! You're right: I said I wouldn't give up, so I'm gonna stay and finish this!"

Bakugou growled, "You damn nerd! I'm going to flatten you!"

They began running at each other, but then Izuku's communicator rang out, "Deku! Are you okay?"

 _Oh no! I've been completely ignoring Uraraka! And I pratctically forgot this is just a test! But that gives me an idea..._

Izuku reached into one of his pouches with his left hand and slid on the ground, managing to evade Bakugou's right hook. _Throw it...there!_

He threw the object over his shoulder, watched it ricochet off of the ceiling and then bounce off of the floor until it was within reach. Izuku quickly grabbed it with his right hand and crossed his arms.

"Captured!"

Bakugou stopped the explosion he was about to unleash, "W-what?!" He looked down and nearly screamed upon seeing a white strip of tape extend from Deku's left hand, reach around his back, and then emerge into Deku's right hand.

Izuku had thrown the roll of tape while holding one end of it. Then, he grabbed the roll after using the Sharingan to throw it around Bakugou and pulled it with his free hand.

Bakugou didn't move for a while, but growled, "Deku!"

* * *

The viewing center was silent as could be, the only sound being All Might chanting, " **Yes!** " as quietly as he could - which was, surprisingly, very quiet.

Finally, the yellow-haired guy spoke, "Holy shit. Midoriya's a ninja."

The frog girl ribbitted(?) in agreement, "His accuracy with the capture tape is impressive."

Even Yaoyorozu, the cold analytic she was, seemed shocked silent at that maneuver.

All Might eventually gathered his bearings and announced, " **Katsuki Bakugou has been captured! Please exit the building.** " He smiled proudly. _Young Midoriya, it seems you've finally managed to stand and shout 'I am here!' to your rival! Young Bakugou certainly can't ignore this._

* * *

Uraraka cheered at the announcement from All Might, "Yes! He did it!"

Iida, while disappointed in his teammate, inwardly smiled that his new friend managed to defeat his tormentor. However, he had a bigger problem right now.

"Smart move, Uraraka! Using capture tape to trap me within a perimeter!" True to his word, the gravity heroine had wrapped capture tape all around the columns, essentially forcing Iida to remain within the rectangular area to avoid being disqualified.

Uraraka smiled. _I really oughta thank Deku for letting me see his notes!_

 _I could leap over the tape, but not with the bomb weighing me down. Maybe in second gear, but there's not enough space to enter it. I just need to focus on moving it away from her for as long as possible in whatever area I have!_

Iida repeatedly dodged her movements, but even he was getting tired. Uraraka, on the other hand, had been trying to move much faster than she was physically able to for an extended period of time and looked ready to drop.

"Uraraka?" Deku's whispered voice appeared from her communicator.

She immediately perked up, "Deku! You alright?"

"I'm fine. I'm actually by the stairs right now. From what I can see, if you can get on the other side of the room, I can try to distract Iida and give you the chance to grab the bomb!"

Uraraka smiled, excited at the prospect and immediately got into position, directly adjacent from the entrance, with Iida and the nuke in between.

Then her partner quietly snuck out from the stairway and Uraraka completely forgot the plan, "Deku!"

He looked terrible. His right hand was bleeding badly, and his suit was basically destroyed. And his body was covered in ugly red burns.

"Huh? Midoriya?" Iida perked up and pivoted, nearly spitting up, "W-what? Midoriya, are you alright?"

Shaking herself off of the shock of seeing her battered friend, she prepared herself. _That's the signal!_ Uraraka jumped, her spring heels giving her the extra bounce she needed. Unfortunately, she waited too long to jump and Iida managed to regain his bearings enough to push the bomb away.

Uraraka cursed herself silently as she landed and made a mad dash for the bomb.

Deku watched the plan fall apart and without thinking, cocked his left arm back. "Uraraka, jump forward!"

Without even thinking, she complied and used her boots to propel herself forward.

Iida saw this and tried to run, only to be knocked backwards by an incredible gust of wind; Midoriya had launched a full force punch into the space between Iida and Uraraka, creating a wave of air pressure.

The wall across Izuku shattered under the force of the punch. As did the wall of the building next door.

Iida marveled at the power on display, "I-incredible..."

Then Uraraka cried, "Retrieved!"

* * *

All Might smiled as he announced the hero team's victory, and with only eight seconds left on the clock, too, but seeing his pupil's battered form filled him with guilt. _Perhaps I could've stopped the battle earlier...but..._

Izuku may have been exhausted and bloody, but he was smiling. Even as he lay on a stretcher to be carried by the UA medical bots to Recovery Girl, he was smiling. Sure, tears of pain were filling his eyes, but All Might was sure there were some happy tears too.

Bakugou, on the other hand, was stone silent as he left for the nurse's office, his arm hanging bare despite Yaoyorozu's offering of bandages.

All Might cleared his throat as the class settled down from the excitement of the first match, " **Now, can anyone tell me the MVP of this match?** "

The pink girl raised her hand, "Oh oh! Pick me, sensei!"

The blue and red blonde chuckled at her enthusiasm, " **Yes, Young Ashido?** "

"Midori! He beat Bakugou and then used that awesome punch to stop Iida!"

All Might smiled that his pupil was getting some recognition but shook his head, " **Unfortunately not. Any other takers?** "

Yaoyorozu raised her hand, "Both Uraraka and Iida, All Might-sensei."

" **Oh. Care to explain?** "

She elaborated, "

"Bakugou let a personal vendetta get in the way. He didn't even try to stop Uraraka from escaping. Midoriya also fell victim to this, but also injured himself twice and caused severe damage to the building and its adjacent one. In a real situation, that would've been catastrophic.

"Iida and Uraraka both made mistakes but remained true to their goals. Uraraka gave her position up but restricted Iida's movements with the tape. Iida got distracted near the end, but still kept the bomb away."

" **U-uh...ahem.** " All Might was taken aback by the analytical skills on the number one student, " **W-well said. I would only add that Iida fully embodied his role more so than any of the others.** "

Yaoyorozu bowed slightly, "Apologies for not picking up on that. As fellow students, it's important we recognize each other's strengths and weaknesses so that we may support each other better."

All Might sweatdropped. _So sincere!_ " **Anyways, now let's get on to the next battle.** "

Bakugou silently returned at some point, sportinga fresh bandage around his arm. He glowered, thinking about how his match had went. Of course, that all went out the window once he saw Team B.

* * *

 **A Few Hours Later**

"Yeesh, keep getting injured like this and forget about being the next Symbol of Peace, you won't even make it past the Sports Festival." Recovery Girl chastised her young patient.

Izuku bowed apologetically, "Sorry, Recovery Girl. I really tried not to, today!"

She sighed and sat back in her chair, "I suppose you're still new at this, but try to learn to control One For All as soon as possible. You'll be a better hero for it anyways."

She smiled slightly, "Though, based on Mr. Bakugou's injuries, I'd say you gave close to what you got."

Izuku blushed slightly, "Was K-kacchan okay?"

Recovery Girl smiled at the compassionate inquiry, "Yes, he was fine. Actually, I sent him back a little after you arrived. Too bad you were passed out; he almost looked surprised to see you!" She laughed light-heartedly, but Izuku was left perplexed.

"Kacchan looked worried?"

The 'youthful' heroine shrugged, "I don't know the boy well enough to interpret his facial expressions, but it looked 'not angry', if that helps. Why?"

Izuku's eyes lit up, "May I be excused?"

Recovery Girl cocked her head at the sudden request, but nodded, "You slept through most of your afternoon class and it's probably over by now, so sure. Just be sure to take it easy tonight and come by early tomorrow so I can finish healing you."

Izuku quickly changed into his uniform, leaving his jacket off due to the sling on his right arm. He then packed his - unfortunately ruined - costume into the suitcase for the support company and headed back to class.

Unfortunately for him, Izuku had apparently impressed his classmates. So the minute he opened the door, he came face to face with any lifelong introvert's worst nightmare: loud people.

"Hey, Midoriya's back!" The muscular guy with oversized lips walked up and clapped a startled Izuku on the shoulder (the left one, luckily). "I'm Sato. That was one seriously sweet fight, bro!"

The spiky redhead was next, "Dude, that was the manliest thing I've seen since we've gotten here! I'm Kirishima. Good to meet you!"

Izuku sweatdropped. _We've only been here for two days..._

The pink girl popped in, "Midori! You were so cool! That one flip you used on Bakugou was seriously awesome! We should definitely break dance sometime!"

 _Is that a common pastime?_

She tapped her chin and perked up, "Oh, I'm Mina, by the way. Mina Ashido."

Izuku laughed nervously, "It's nice to meet you three." _Did they stay after to see me?_

Kirishima noticed the suitcase in his hands, "Oh, let me get that!" He grabbed it without even waiting for a response and placed it back on the still-extended shelf.

"O-oh! Thanks, Kirishima."

The redhead waved his hands, "It's nothing. Glad to help."

At that moment, the yellow haired guy walked in with Uraraka, both laden with textbooks, "You know, we should go out some time. What's your favorite food?"

Uraraka looked up in thought, "Uh...I like mochi- Deku!" Midway through her sentence, she noticed her bandaged friend and ran over after adding her books to the other guy's pile, causing the poor teen to fall over.

"Are you okay to move around? Recovery Girl didn't heal you?"

Izuku blushed. _She's always so close!_ "N-no she did! I just didn't have enough stamina for her to finish." He then noticed the suspicious absence of the person he most wanted to talk to, "Hey, where's Kacchan?"

The yellow haired one spoke from under the books, "Bakugou? He left a couple minutes ago. I'm Denki Kaminari, by the way. Nice to-"

"Dude, he's gone." Sato interrupted.

Kaminari just groaned, "Of course he is."

* * *

Bakugou was nearly at the gate when he heard a gratingly loud voice, "Kacchan!" He turned in a huff in time to see Izuku run down the front steps, his right arm kept in a tight sling close to his chest.

"What do you want, Deku? If you came to gloat, you really should wait until your arm's healed."

Izuku shook his head, "I wanted to tell you that today...it's my loss."

This made the explosive teen pause, "The fuck are you on about?"

The greenette looked down, "If it wasn't an exam, there's no way I could've won. Even if I used my Quirk's full power, you probably would've avoided it and then I'd be too injured to fight. That's why," Izuku looked Bakugou straight in the eyes, "I don't want this kind of a win. I wanna beat you fair and square!"

Bakugou was silent, but growled after a moment, "Dammit. DAMMIT! YOU'RE STILL LOOKING DOWN ON ME? YOU? ALWAYS TRYING TO 'HELP'...I CAN DO THING MYSELF, DAMMIT! I DON'T NEED YOUR PITY! I'LL BEAT YOU AND THAT HALF-AND-HALF BASTARD ALL ON MY OWN!"

Izuku shook his head, "That's not it!"

"THEN WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS DOING THIS KIND OF SHIT? NO MATTER HOW MUCH I TELL YOU TO FUCK OFF, YOU WON'T LISTEN. YOU THINK YOU'RE THAT MUCH BETTER THAN ME? ME?!"

Izuku yelled out, "It's because I'm jealous of you!" This finally shut Bakugou up.

The former continued, "All my life, I saw how amazing you were. And I just wanted to be like you. Even when you were...an ass...I still wanted to have your motivation and power. And then, I got this Quirk and I thought I could finally be like you. But I still don't know how to use it."

Izuku looked at Bakugou, trying to convey everything he felt, "But that's why...I'm going to make this borrowed power my own and defeat you with it. I'm going to show you that I can surpass you!" He felt a slight itch in his eyes, but ignored it, steeling his gaze.

Bakugou stared silently at Izuku and he could practically feel the sincerity behind that statement. He remembered all the beatings he and his henchmen gave the kid, all the insults he threw, the threats.

Yet, Deku didn't give up. And now, he was telling him that it was all to prove that they could be equal.

The ashy blonde turned around and loosened his facial expression. He started walking, but commented, "Today's a draw. You're nowhere a threat to me, so you better get to work. One day, we're gonna settle this."

Deku was taken aback, but nodded and cried, "You got it!"

Bakugou didn't respond, but as he walked to the station, he recalled one of Izuku's phrased. _Borrowed power?_

At the same time, Izuku was met by a surprise guest, " **Young Midoriya!** "

He nearly spat, "A-all Might?!"

The Number 1 Hero laughed merrily, " **I couldn't help but overhear you and Young Bakugou talk. I must say, it seems you really got through to him! Though, why you turned on your Sharingan, I don't know.** "

Izuku raised an eyebrow before realizing his Quirk was, indeed, active, "Wha? I don't remember turning it on? Weird..." He deactivated it.

All Might shrugged before continuing, " **However, I was shocked to hear you reveal One For All to him!** "

"Huh? I didn-" He remembered what he said, "WAH! I'm so sorry All Might-sensei! Please accept my apologies! I'm sorry!" He bowed repeatedly and deeply, outshining even Iida.

All Might stopped him with a light chop, " **Luckily, he seems not to have noticed, but you must be more careful in the future. One For All is a carefully guarded secret for good reason.** "

Izuku looked down, "Sorry, All Might. I just wanted to be sincere with him."

All Might nodded understandingly, " **It's fine. I understand your intentions. And cheer up! I think you really got through to him!** " All Might smiled at his student, earning one in return.

" **Oh, by the way, how are your injuries?** "

Izuku gestured to his arm, "They're fine. My broken bone got set but there's still a few small fractures that Recovery Girl couldn't heal. And my hand is still a bit sensitive."

All Might nodded, " **Yes, I noticed you didn't regulate your power output like you did with Aizawa. Why not?** "

Izuku sighed, "It takes so long, even with the Sharingan to help me. Against someone as fast as Kacchan, I couldn't even breathe, much less focus on that."

The older man nodded understandingly before snapping his fingers, " **Don't ask questions, but I want you to focus One For All in your left arm. Shoot for 3%. I think your body should be able to handle that comfortably.** "

Izuku raised an eyebrow, but complied, using his Sharingan to gauge his power output, "O-okay. I have it around 3%. Now what?"

All Might grinned, " **Now, you need to learn how it feels!** "

"...huh?"

He elaborated, " **You said that using your Sharingan to help regulate your output takes too long. So instead, use it to train yourself to get used to the feel of 3%. Then, you'll be able to call upon it without even thinking about it!** "

Izuku grinned, "Oh yea!" He focused on the energy circulating in his arm, the power he felt. Then he deactivated both Quirks before recharging One For All back to what he thought was 3%.

Activating his Sharingan to check and, "It's not even close!" Izuku groaned at the massive overshot.

All Might chuckled, " **If it were easy, then anyone could do it. Just keep practicing. First learn to feel the output and then focus on speeding it up.** **Anyways, it's late and you don't want to keep your mother waiting. Best be off!** "

Izuku nodded and left for the station. After recuperating some stamina with a nap on the train, he arrived at his home, much to his mother's worry once she saw his arm. Overall, his evening was rather peaceful, especially compared to the day he had.

However, only a block away, two men were panicking in the streets. Or, at least, one of them was.

"Dammit, Hojo! Where is she? If we can't find her, we're gonna get our asses handedto us!" A young man with long light hair and a beak-shaped black mask over his mouth spoke.

His partner, a bald man with shadowed eyes and a face obscured by a light mask, responded, "Calm, Toya. The boss will understand. And it's not like she'll have anywhere to go. This is a war of attrition."

Toya shook his head wildly, "Nah, man! We're gonna get reset for sure! I don't wanna get reset! I like my body!"

Hojo sighed, "Truth be told, I do have some back pain. Maybe a reset wouldn't be the worst thing."

While they bickered back and forth, they missed a shivering child hiding under a dumpster by a certain apartment complex, her white hair so caked with dirt it appeared black and her horn painfully shoved against the asphalt.

* * *

 **Welp, bet that amounts to nothing!**

 **As always, thank you all so much for the support. Reading your reviews is so motivating and makes me really happy that you all enjoy this story so much!**

 **Anyways, I'll get right to work on Chapter 5. See you then!**


	5. Pressing Political Panic!

_Chapter 5: Pressing Political Panic!_

* * *

Keisha Mainu always got her story. Armed with her trusty microphone and supported by her partner-in-crime and cameraman, Sukoshi Teme, she had covered drug rings, slave trades, sex scandals, political corruption, and even vigilantism throughout her illustrious career. So why, pray tell, was she having so much trouble writing a fluff piece about All Might and UA?

"Excuse me, can you tell me what it's like to have All Might as a teacher?" She held her mic out to a shorter boy with a young face and unkempt green hair.

Unfortunately, he had the personality to go with his immature appearance, "Wha-I-huh? He's...uh-I-um..." _I'M ON TV!  
_

This continued for several minutes, the thought of being on TV apparently enough to reduce this child into a defective unit.

The next person they approached was a short girl with a brown bob cut and massive eyes, "Oo, he's like all muscly and big and stuff."

The reporter sweatdropped. _That's even more unhelpful that Captain Stutter._

Turns out, to her surprise, there was such a thing as too helpful.

"Every day we learn from him is a reminder that we're attending the finest institution in the world. I could not be more humbled-"

She dragged her cameraman away from the tall boy with wide hand gestures to interview another boy with spiky ash-blonde hair. Before she could even hold out the mic, however, he roared, "FUCK OFF YOU OLD HAG!"

From the back of the crowd, two figures smiled at the sight. A lanky man with blue hair turned to his companion, a black and purple gaseous figure, "Cheeky brat, huh?"

* * *

Aizawa cleared his throat, "I saw your battle trial recordings. Bakugou," The hot-tempered teen grunted in acknowledgment, "Grow up. You're talented so don't waste it by being an idiot."

Bakugou glowered at his desk, but quietly responded, "Yes, sir."

"And Midoriya," Izuku yelped at his name, "you were the only student to get seriously injured. It was the second day so you get a pass, but the next time it happens, you're going to write a 10 page paper on masochism graded by Midnight. Got it?"

"Y-yes, Aizawa-sensei!"

The teacher nodded, "Alright, today we have something important to get out of the way." Aizawa said in his monotonous, yet intimidating, voice.

Almost everyone in the class sharply inhaled. _Another test?!_

"You need to pick a class representative."

 _So normal!_

"Pick me!" Kaminari exclaimed, "I'll be a great rep!"

"No, elect me!" Ashido insisted.

Kirishima interjected, "Nah, I'm the best choice! A manly job like class rep needs a manly person! And who better than me?"

The short girl with aux cords for earlobes, Jiro Kyoka, narrowed her eyes, "Are you saying only guys can be class rep?"

Kirishima turned to her and gave her the most glaring 'are-you-an-idiot' face possible, "Huh? What're you talking about? What does being manly have to do with gender?"

Mineta interrupted, "Pick me! I'll make sure all skirts can only be 30 centimeters or lower! Midoriya, wanna be my deputy?"

Izuku buried his face in his hands, "Please don't talk to me." _I almost miss middle school._

One by one, nearly everyone in the class proclaimed their own desire to run for office.

That was until Iida came to the rescue, "We must settle this in a dignified, democratic method; let us vote for class representative!"

Yaoyorozu countered, "But wouldn't everyone just vote for themselves?"

"Besides, we don't know each other well enough." Asui retorted.

Iida shook his head, "If most of us vote for ourselves, then whomever receives multiple votes must be the ideal candidate for having made such an impression in such a short amount of time!"

Aizawa shrugged and went into his sleeping bag/cocoon, "Just hurry it up."

So after the votes were cast and counted (and recounted after Iida's insistence), the results were announced on the board.

 **Izuku Midoriya: 3 votes**

 **Momo Yaoyorozu: 2 votes**

 **Everyone else: 0-1 votes**

Izuku laughed at the third line. _So nonspecific._ Then he realized what the vote meant. "Eh?"

Aizawa glanced at the board and grunted, "Alright, Midoriya is Class Representative. Yaoyorozu, you're Deputy Representative. The rest of class is study hall." The 'teacher' curled back up and went to sleep on his desk as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Bakugou narrowed his eyes and turned to face the still shell-shocked greenette. He looked like he was going to say something, most likely a profanity of some kind, but just turned back around, "Whatever."

Iida grit his teeth, "To think it was my idea and I received only one vote!" _But I'm so happy someone thinks highly of me!_

Denki smiled, "Hey, this could work! Midoriya's super quick on his feet and Yaoyorozu's mad smart, too."

Because he zoned out the second Aizawa finished talking, Izuku could only choke out an, "Eh?"

Uraraka ran to her friend, "Congrats, Deku! I know you'll be an awesome representative!"

"...EH?!"

* * *

Normally, lunch time at UA is a time of joy. A time to enjoy the company of friends. A time to eat food made by a man with a cooking Quirk that inexplicably became a Pro Hero.

Unfortunately, Midoriya was still twitching, completely shocked at the outcome of the vote. The others at his table - Iida to his right, Kirishima to his left, Uraraka, Ashido and Yaoyorozu on the other side - had

Kirishima clapped him on the shoulder, "Man, Midoriya, you need to lighten up! If I knew you'd be this freaked, I probably would've asked before I voted!"

Midoriya snapped out of his funk, "Huh? You voted for me, Kirishima? I thought you said you wanted to be class rep."

He nodded, "Oh I do, but Iida really got me thinking that my vote should go to whoever deserved it most and you were definitely the manliest guy yesterday!"

Iida nodded in agreement, "Indeed, Midoriya. Your quick thinking and iron jaw are traits we need in a leader. That's why I voted for you."

"Even though you all wanted to be class rep...you guys..." Izuku felt his heart clench and his face contort into an expression mixing gratitude, tearfulness, and just a touch of humility.

"What's wrong with your face?" Uraraka plainly asked.

Izuku wiped his eyes, "Just super grateful, is all. I'll be sure to live up to your expectations!" He declared, his eyes swimming with - as Kirishima would call them - manly tears.

Uraraka then asked, "Oh, wait! I voted for you, too. So who'd you vote for?"

"Oh. I voted for Iida, actually." Izuku chuckled, scratching his cheek.

Iida was surprised, "What? Wow, Midoriya, I humbly thank yo-"

"WOULD YOU EXTRAS SHUT IT? WE'RE TRYING TO EAT!" Bakugou roared from across the table.

The six immediately fell silent with a sweatdrop. _Who's 'we'? You're sitting alone..._

Uraraka then perked up from her juice, "'Humbly'? Iida...are you a rich boy?"

Iida coughed into his hand, "Well, I usually do not advertise it, but my family does have many famous heroes in it."

"Really?" Izuku's eyes sparkled with intrigue, "Who? Anyone we'd know?

"Have you heard of Ingenium?"

"Oh yea! He's an awesome Pro with over 60 sidekicks at his own agency. He's a relative?!"

Iida chuckled proudly, "He's my brother."

Izuku gasped and fell back in an awestruck stupor, saved from falling to the ground by a quick Kirishima, "H-hey, Midoriya! This is too much!"

Ashido changed the subject, "Hey, Yaomomo-" The nickname earned a blush from the raven-haired beauty in question, "-who was your second vote?"

She raised an eyebrow, "How do you know who my first vote was?"

Ashido snickered, "Well it's sorta obvious you voted for yourself. You're like mad confident."

Her serious facade broke faster than Midoriya's bones and she placed a hand over her mouth with a gasp, her eyes glittering, "You think I'm confident?"

The other five at the table smiled at the sudden bounciness. _So refreshing!_

The taller girl composed herself and answered, "I'm not too sure. I've only really talked to Jiro and I was, unfortunately, with Mineta for the battle trial, but I don't think either of them voted for me. It would have to be the last person with zero votes. Iida, do you know who that was?"

Before the bespectacled boy could answer, a blaring alarm went off, filling the very air with a shrill ringing.

"SECURITY LEVEL 3 HAS BEEN BREACHED. PLEASE EVACUATE IN A CALM AND ORDERLY FASHION."

Most of the older students immediately took off in a panic, fleeing the cafeteria in a frenzied dash for the exit.

"Hey, what's going on?" Kirishima asked one upperclassman.

"Someone's invaded the school! This hasn't happened in years! You oughta get moving, too!"

Soon enough, the students of Class 1A were caught up in the mob, uncomfortably shoved around and pressed against walls, lockers, or even other students.

Iida grunted as his face was slammed against the window, but he widened his eyes once he saw a gaping hole in the UA fence and a swarm of reporters scrambling through it.

 _That's it?_ "Everyone, calm down! It's just the press!" Iida cried, but to avail. He continued to shout, desperately trying to gain his classmate's attention. _It's not working! How can I reach them?_

Iida noticed Uraraka nearby and a metaphorical lightbulb lit up, "Uraraka, please use your Quirk on me!" She complied without hesitation, tapping her friend's outstretched hand and watching him float up.

 _I must gain their attention in a manner that is both graceful and inspiring! That is how you represent UA!_

So after crashing face first into the wall, Iida shouted at the now-stunned crowd, "Everyone! The breach was caused by the press only! It is nothing to panic over! We are students of UA and we must act in a manner befitting our institution!"

Luckily, his words managed to quell the rampaging mob so the evacuation continued in a calm and orderly fashion.

That was, until Uraraka released her Quirk and Iida fell right on top of Bakugou.

* * *

Aizawa droned, "Class Rep and Deputy Rep, you need to fill the rest of the positions."

Izuku, and Yaoyorozu stood at the front of the class with a list of officers. Izuku spoke as the representative, "S-so we need a Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Historian. Are any of you interested?"

Kaminari spoke up, "What do they do?"

"O-oh, my bad. Um...the Secretary takes attendance and keeps track of important information for the whole class."

Kaminari sighed, "So basically all the hard stuff."

"The Treasurer is in charge of class funds and events. Like parties and class outings."

Before any of the students could even form excited looks, Aizawa added, "It's mostly for General Studies and the Business and Support Courses. We don't have that kind of time."

Izuku laughed nervously, "And the Historian keeps a record of class activities."

Aizawa translated, "They mean take pictures. Why Nezu insists on having this position is beyond me, but..."

Immediately, cries came across the classroom declaring intent to run. Scrambling to write all the names down, Izuku announced, "Okay, we'll appoint positions over the weekend. Is that alright, Aizawa-sensei?"

The Pro-Hero shrugged, "As long as I have it by Monday."

Izuku nodded, "Oh, also...I think that Iida should replace me as Class Rep."

Iida nearly dropped, "What? Midoriya, I don't understand! You were elected fair and square!"

"Y-yea, but...in the cafeteria, you were the first one to notice that there wasn't a real threat-"

Aizawa would've laughed at that statement if the massive hole in the fence Nezu showed him wasn't so imposing. _Honestly can't say there wasn't one._

"-and you managed to get everyone's attention. Truth be told, I'm not really good at public speaking or anything and I'm too timid to lead."

Most of the class nodded in agreement, almost comical in their unity.

"But you're good at that! So you should be the one to lead us!

Iida was silent for a moment, but he quickly grabbed Izuku's hand and shook it firmly, "Midoriya, your words move my heart. I will accept this position, but only if you support me as Deputy Representative! Your intellect and decisiveness are still very much needed."

Izuku smiled and shook his hand back, "Deal!"

Yaoyorzu could only sweatdrop. _I feel overlooked._

Aizawa cleared his throat, "Now that you've decided to make me redo a stack of forms, how about we take a short quiz while I catch up?"

The entire class groaned. "Midori, quick! Take it back! Take it back!" Ashido frantically cried.

Aizawa just chuckled, a sign of true sadism, "There are no 'take backs' in my class. Now you have an essay to write. One page for every piece of paperwork."

Iida raised his hand, "Is that one page front and back, Aizawa-sensei?"

The screams and roars from the class that day made even Present Mic plug his ears.

* * *

 **That Night**

Izuku grit his teeth, the Dagobah Beach sand around him shifting slightly under the subtle shockwaves emanating from his extended leg.

He was in a lunge position, his eyes closed tightly as he carefully felt the glow of One For All in his right leg ebb and flow under his mental grasp.

"Remember how it felt. 3%." Izuku repeated to himself like a mantra.

Once he was satisfied, he opened his eyes to check, "Sharingan...dammit! So close, too!"

He deactivated both Quirks and sat down to take a breath. In the last couple of days, he'd been substituting normal exercise for training to use One For All. While he'd certainly improved, he was still overshooting for the most part. Sometimes, even when he'd been sure that he was on the dot, he lost focus and it shot back up.

"I'm sure the range is totally fine, but precision is everything." He groaned and shook his head, "It's like learning to move a brand-new limb that constantly wants to go up! I need to get it down perfect or I'll never be able to catch up to everyone else!"

Standing up, Izuku concentrated One For All in his right arm, once more forcing the torrent of energy down into a more manageable wave. _The egg in the microwave...it won't break...it won't break!_

He opened his eyes and checked his work. "Did it get brighter?!"

This continued for some time until finally, "Yes! That's it!"

Of course, he couldn't reproduce the result perfectly after the first success, but by the time the sun set, Izuku had successfully charged 3% of One For All in each of his limbs at least once.

 _Can't actually test its power in public so I guess I should just head home for now. Aizawa-sensei said we'd have something special for basic training anyways. I guess they want our first week to end on a high note._

The long walk home had long since become a cool down jog, but tonight, Izuku took it slow, savoring the last few sips of water in his bottle and the cool spring air. He stopped by the sporting goods store to buy a new, all-black facemask while the support company repaired his official one, then continued on his way.

He approached the large recycling bin outside his apartment complex and threw the bottle away, only to jump out of his skin when he heard a sound from inside the blue container.

"Oww..."

It was so quiet, it might as well not have been uttered. But Izuku was certain that he'd heard someone cry out.

"H-hello? Is someone in there?" Izuku inched near the bin, one foot pointed away in case he needed to make a break for it. His heart thudded audibly against his ribs - or at least it felt like it did.

There was no response so Izuku cracked open the lid and peeked inside, "Hello?"

However, he didn't see anything but bottles, cardboard boxes, and what looked like dirty mop. _Huh. Didn't know you could recycle those._ Closing the lid, Izuku scratched his head, "I could've sworn..."

* * *

 **The Next Morning**

Class 1A had gathered outside the UA building in what looked like a parking lot after changing into their hero costumes, apparently for their special battle training session.

"Man, I don't like being in suspense about all this." Kaminari groaned, putting his hands on his head.

Kirishima smiled, "It must be something good though! Otherwise we wouldn't be missing all our normal classes for this."

Sato deadpanned, "Also, do you want to keep listening to Present Mic-sensei do the monologue from Hamlet, Kaminari?"

The trio shuddered remembering the ear-gratingly terrible rendition of the classic text, punctuated by Present Mic randomly switched from normal speech to his iconic screeching.

On the other end of the parking lot, Izuku just arrived, having modified his gym uniform with some of the gear from his official costume that wasn't destroyed in the Battle Trial two days prior.

Once the bus pulled around, Iida exclaimed, "Everyone, line up in number order and please enter the bus in a single file line!"

Of course, the bus did not have an ordered seat layout, so everyone pretty much sat wherever they wanted, much to Iida's chagrin.

"To think it was this kind of bus...so uncool!" Iida groaned, his cheeks tinted red.

While Izuku was busy laughing at his friend's embarrassment, he heard a sentence that made his blood run cold: "Midoriya, your Quirk reminds me of All Might."

Izuku's eyes opened comically wide, "W-wha? Asui, t-there's no way! M-my eyes change color!"

Asui shrugged, "Ribbit. Call me Tsu. And I'm just saying that your strength is reminiscent of his. Although your Quirk seems worse because you injure yourself. Or perhaps you just have a weak body." That made Bakugou laugh.

Kirishima came to Izuku's defense, "It's still awesome to have a flashy Quirk like that! Mine makes me look all spiky and scary. And it doesn't do a lot of cool stuff."

Izuku shook his head, "N-no way, Kirishima! Your Quirk is crazy strong! Plus, you have a lot of potential as a combat hero. You're like the tank character in a video game!"

Kirishima looked at his fist and clenched it with a smile, "So I'm like Donkey Kong from Super Smash Bros. That's pretty manly!"

Izuku chuckled sheepishly. _With that hair and a hard outer shell, you're basically Bowser._

Kaminari added, "Besides, what's good about having a flashy Quirk if you're a bad person? Like this guy." He jerked his thumb at Bakugou.

"THE HELL DO YOU MEAN, PIKACHU?!"

Kaminari just smirked, "See what I mean? It's not even been a week and we all know your personality's worse than a manure farm's smell."

Tsuyu nodded, "He does seem more villainous than heroic. Ribbit."

"I WILL FRY YOU UP AND FEED YOU TO THAT FRENCH FUCK!"

Aoyama shook his head rapidly in the back of the bus, "Non, merci."

"WHO SAID YOU HAD A CHOICE?!"

Izuku scratched his head nervously. Oh _my god, they're making fun of Kacchan...I feel disconcertingly satisfied._

* * *

After they arrived to the massive domed complex - and Aizawa unwrapped a still-writhing Bakugou from his scarf's clutches - the students marveled at the assorted landscapes and scenery in the indoor facility.

 _It's like a theme park! But which one?_

"Welcome to USJ!"

 _That one!_

The speaker approached the group by the entryway, gesturing widely past the staircase leading down to the main plaza and the paths to the different zones, "Also known as the Unforeseen Simulation Joint. My name is-"

"Thirteen!" Both Izuku and Uraraka fangirled ( **A.N. I know what I said** ) over the sight of the space suit-clad Pro Hero.

Thirteen chuckled and rubbed his 'head', "Pleasure to meet you all. Like these two said, "I'm the Space Hero: Thirteen. I specialize in rescue operations, which is actually why you're all here."

Aizawa approached the space hero, "Thirteen, where's All Might?"

Thirteen cleared his throat and whispered while holding out three fingers. Izuku couldn't hear the words, but he got the gist: _All Might is out of time._

Thirteen continued his lecture, "You see, most Pro Heroes rarely fight villains, if at all. The majority of hero work, are rescue missions. However, they're also much tougher than just fighting. Like my Quirk, Black Hole..."

Uraraka's eyes twinkled, recognizing the Quirk's name as Thirteen held a finger out to the class.

"...is extremely useful for absorbing debris and clearing disaster sites. However, it could easily kill someone. I'm sure many of you have similar predicaments."

Izuku looked at his fist. _That's why I've been training!_

"But today, we're going to practice this! You'll all have to go to different disaster zones and attempt to resolve the crisis with your Quirks in a manner befitting a hero. That is to say, no collateral damage."

"Speaking of collateral damage..." A chilling voice sounded from the plaza below.

Aizawa instantly tensed and stood guard at the top of the stairs. Izuku couldn't help himself and went to look too, nearly fainting at the sight of over 30 villains, all entering through a purple and black portal of some kind. Leading them was a lanky man with light blue hair and hands covering his face and black clothing.

Thirteen stammered in shock at the sudden invasion, "S-senpai! What's the plan?"

Aizawa grit his teeth, "I'll handle this alone. Protect the students. We're under attack."


	6. Universal Studios Japan

**Man, the last chapter was a** **chore** **to write so I can't even imagine how it was to read. This one was a lot of fun to write but...I sorta redid it a few times...idk I kept having new ideas pop up and I constantly revised it.**

 **But I hope the extra time was worth it! If not...well fuck me I guess.**

 **Side note: Thanks to 'WantlessEight' for beta-reading!**

* * *

 _Chapter 6: Universal Studios Japan_

* * *

Aizawa's jaw tightened, his gaze steeling under his goggles. _How did all these villains sneak past our security system?! Is that purple smog from some sort of a teleportation Quirk? But even that shouldn't get past our communications array!_

"Kaminari, can you get a signal out? Try and contact UA or the police." Aizawa commanded.

"On it!" Kaminari responded as he used his antennae to broadcast a signal.

 _Thirteen said All Might was out of time for now. Did they know that?! But the guy with the hands was talking about collateral damage. Does that mean we're not his targets?_

Izuku stammered at the ever-growing swarm of villains, "Sharingan!" _I count 45 right now. And...I can see a lot of life signs in the different zones!_ "Aizawa-sensei!"

The pro grunted, "Get back, Midoriya. Not now."

Izuku continued anyways, "I can see a lot of life signs spread around the disaster sites. There's not supposed to be anybody besides us, right?"

Aizawa growled, "No, there's not." _If that purple guy really has a warp Quirk and they bothered to stock each zone with villains..._ "Thirteen, there're villains in the disaster zones! I bet the teleportation user's gonna try to separate us so we're easy targets."

Thirteen nodded, "But to have these many villains, they certainly can't be more than Class D. Maybe save for those three." Thirteen didn't even need to gesture to anything for everyone to know he meant the warp Quirk user, the lanky guy covered in hands, and a massive creature with a beak, exposed cranium, and gouges littered across its black skin.

Izuku called to Aizawa, "Sensei, we should run. There's too many of them! And your Quirk "

Eraserhead practically smirked, "You can't become a Pro Hero by only having one gimmick."

With that, Aizawa charged the villains that took the initiative to climb the front stairs.

"Ha! Running into battle by himself. What an idiot!" One villain shouted as he tried to fire the guns in his fingertips, only to find that they didn't work, "What the f-"

Aizawa elbowed him in the nose, causing a rather impressive spray of blood. He then seized another villain by the neck and pulled him into one of his colleagues, sending both tumbling down the steps. With a few strategic twirls of his scarf, he was able to entrap another three villains in its grasp, taking them out with a quick tug of the cloth that slammed all of them together.

Class 1A watched in amazement as their teacher single-handedly fought a small army of evildoers. Izuku watched especially closely, using his Sharingan to trace Eraserhead's movements.

On the villains' end of things, the leader, was scratching his neck in irritation, "Ugh, these damn pros. Small fry NPCs can't hope to stand against a miniboss like this. And the final boss is nowhere in sight."

The purple smoke being, now adopting his corporeal form with a finely tailored three-piece suit sans jacket, spoke, "That one, Tomura Shigaraki, is Eraserhead. One of the more obscure Pro Heroes."

The scratching quickened, "Ah, I remember. He can erase non-heteromorphic Quirks. So he's a gimmick boss. No problem: I brought my Action Replay."

On cue, the large black bird-man growled, as if preparing to pounce.

Shigaraki chuckled, the air seemingly growing colder as he did, "Not yet, Nomu. Let Kurogiri have some fun, first. Kurogiri, you know what to do?"

"Of course, sir." In a swirl of dark mist, Kurogiri vanished from the plaza before reappearing at the front door, effectively sandwiching the students, "Hello, future heroes. Could anyone tell me where All Might is?"

Thirteen barked, "Everyone, get behind me! Kaminari, any progress?"

The electric man shook his head, "There's some sort of interference! Like another signal that cancels mine out as soon as I release it."

"There must be someone with a Quirk like that hidden in the disaster zones. Iida, we need you to run and get help!"

Iida shook his head, "But Thirteen-sensei, running is dishonorable! It would be best to stay and help fight the-"

Yaoyorozu interrupted him, "Iida, as class rep, it's your job to watch our wellbeing. And right now, the best thing you can do is to get help!"

The speedster thought for a brief moment before nodding and racing for the doors. However, Kurogiri was quick on the draw, "Not so fast, boy. Can't have you running off, can we?"

He opened a portal in front of Iida that led right back to Thirteen. The Rescue Hero growled and extended a finger, "Iida, go again and don't stop for anything! I'll keep him off of you. Black Hole!"

Thirteen waited until Iida was at a safe distance before his fingertip fell down, revealing a black abyss that sucked in everything with a violent pull. The mist man was no exception as his gaseous form was quickly pulled in.

Izuku watched in awe until he noticed a metallic glint within the purple man's body. Looking with the Sharingan, he realized that it was glowing, much like a human body under his Quirk's special eyesight. _That must be his real body! We can target it!_

Kurogiri growled, "What a powerful Quirk. Shame it's squandered on someone with no battle aptitude!" With that, a small portal began forming behind Thirteen.

However, it never finished forming because at that moment, Kurogiri was sent flying by a strong punch to his body. _What? Who.._.

Izuku landed on the ground, the subtle glow of 3% One For All fading from his fist, "There's a metal neckplate on him. That's his real body." _He was planning on opening a portal behind Thirteen, probably to make Black Hole backfire. I'm lucky the Sharingan and 3% are faster than that!_

"Deku! Nice work!" Uraraka cheered.

 _Huh. That was actually fairly apt._ Yaoyorozu smiled, "And that bought time for Iida to get away." True to her words, Iida was currently forcing the doors to USJ open.

Kurogiri's face was mostly colored gas, but if colored gas could emote, then Kurogiri was livid. _Knocked back...by a_ _child_ _?!_ "I commend you on your students, Thirteen-sensei. But I'm going to get serious now." He instantly warped Iida back from the door to Thirteen.

Thirteen chuckled, "Funny. I was going to say the same thing." The gloved hand went out, but this time, the four main fingertips opened up, producing a violent maelstrom. In a flash, Kurogiri was pulled back towards peril.

However, the teleporter wasn't done as he opened a portal beneath Thirteen in a near instant. Gravity taking hold, the space hero fell through.

Izuku's blood ran cold, "W-where'd he go?" _That portal...its speed was on a completely different level than before!_

Kurogiri laughed sadistically, "Only one way to find an astronaut: look to the stars."

At that moment, Thirteen crashed into the concrete, cracking his dome and heavily damaging his suit; his exit portal had opened from far above the ground. The hero wasn't conscious, and his body was barely shifting from his own breathing.

"Sorry if that surprised you, but if it helps, he wasn't even awake to feel pain. My quick teleportation tends to be a bit...jarring."

Uraraka looked at the mist man and felt a fire ignite in her heart at the sight of her favorite hero downed, "You...monster!"

Iida grit his teeth. _If he wasn't so preoccupied with buying me time, this would've never happened! Curse my weakness!_

Apparently, Bakugou and Kirishima felt some similar rage because they charged the villain, explosions and rock-hard fists at the ready. However, the purple man simply opened two foggy portals in front of the students, making them vanish from sight.

"Don't worry about your friends. You really oughta worry about yourself first." Then several portals opened around the students, pulling nearly all of them inside.

Izuku felt a weird floating sensation as he became enshrouded in the dark fog. However, he felt a pair of hands pull him forward.

"Man, that was a close one. Glad we didn't lose you, huh?" Kaminari said, wiping his brow at having saved his friend.

Izuku was about to thank him when he realized something, "Uh, Kaminari...I think everyone else lost us."

* * *

Jiro panted heavily as she surfaced, water slowly trickling down her head. _What the heck? Where am I?_

There was no time to gather her bearings for at that moment, a shark-like villain breached from the water, his jagged teeth poised to strike, "I didn't come here to kill kids, but who am I to choose?"

Jiro's eyes widened, and her body seized up in shock. _I...I can't move!_

Luckily, she didn't have to; Asui leapt out of the water and delivered a hell-of-a-kick to the shark villain's gills, causing him to convulse and fall unconscious. "Jiro, grab on." Asui extended her tongue and pulled the punk-girl with her, carrying them both to the deck of a large yacht in the middle of the water.

Jiro coughed out whatever water entered her lungs and sighed in relief, "Phew. Thanks, Asui."

"Call me Tsu."

"Oh, okay, T-tsu." Jiro blushed at the lack of formality.

"Oh thank god! I'm going to die surrounded by women!"

And like that, Jiro's face became red for a completely different reason, "Oh great, we're stuck with the pervert!"

Mineta started sobbing, "I'm so happy you're a tsundere!"

Tsuyu slapped him with her tongue, "Let's focus on escaping. Ribbit. The fog man was looking for All Might. I suppose that means they came to kill or capture him. Ribbit."

"W-wait...they came to kill All Might? Are they stupid?" Jiro asked, feeling an incredible sense of unease at Tsuyu's deduction.

Mineta was bawling now, "Tsuyu, please tell me you're kidding!"

"Only my friends can call me Tsu. And I generally just say what's on my mind."

"Then we're gonna die!" The short kid was practically hysterical, much to the villains' amusement.

One of them, a ghastly looking skeleton with black armor, smirked, "Looks like UA isn't as tough as they want you to believe." He raised his hand up, which produced a claw made of water from the surface, "I guess that just makes them easy pickings.

On the yacht, Tsuyu and Jiro were still trying to create a plan. "Ribbit. We're in the flood zone so I suppose everyone else is scattered across the other areas. If we can, we should try to find the others and regroup."

Jiro scratched her head, "But how can we escape? You're the only one fast enough to outrun them in water, but you'd be way slower with me."

"And me!" Mineta cried, tears forming.

Jiro didn't even acknowledge him, "How can we at least hold the villains back long enough to escape?"

"I have an idea, but I need your boot!"

Tsuyu just smacked him again, "Ribbit. They circled around the boat. I might be able to jump past the villains with just one of you. Then I could come back and get the other. It'd be risky, but it's our best chance."

"Jiro, give me your boot."

"Shut it, mini perv! We don't have time for your shit, right now!"

"But I have an idea!"

"I don't wanna hear your half-baked attempt to see us naked, you ignorant f-"

At that moment, a massive claw of water ripped through the boat, causing it to sink.

"...what's the plan?" Jiro handed Mineta one of her boots.

He immediately removed the speaker from the boot. Then he detached the grill, revealing the subwoofer beneath, " Normally, sound waves fade out quickly in air because air's compressible, but water isn't! So-"

"The sound waves from Jiro's boots would spread throughout the water, disabling the villains. Ribbit. That's pretty smart, Mineta." Tsuyu tilted her head, genuinely surprised.

Mineta puffed his chest proudly, "I can't die until I touch Yaoyorozu's boobs! So until then, I just have to keep on living!"

Jiro resisted the temptation to throw the micro-perv into the water, replacing her now-plain boot while plugging into her speaker, "So I just need to create a massive soundwave underneath the water? Not too hard."

"If it's too strong, you'll liquify their internal organs." Tsuyu added, "Too weak and it'll be like a jacuzzi."

Jiro gulped and nodded, plugging into her speaker, "Alright. Let's do this."

* * *

Todoroki sighed, his breath visible as a cold mist. "Even as far as weaker villains go, you're all on the low end of things."

The villains in front of him could only groan and stutter in response, completely incapacitated on account of the ice encapsulating their bodies.

"W-what the hell?" One of the villains stammered, the cold seeping into his bones, "The second we showed u-up, t-this kid..."

"S-shigaraki promised the students w-would be easy. This guy's b-better than most pros!"

Todoroki turned to leave, only to hear another villain pop up from behind him, "Never let your guard down, kid! Not even fo-"

The villain never finished his words because in a flash, Todoroki pushed him down with a palm strike that left ice spreading across his body, cementing him to the ground, "Learn your own advice."

"You have a few minutes before hypothermia kicks in. I'm sure I could get a pass for it, but I'd rather not kill you. So, tell me why you're here." Todoroki coldly stated, his left side steaming slightly in a tantalizing reprieve for the villains.

The one he last froze broke immediately, "W-we're here to kill All Might!"

Todoroki nearly laughed, "I wanted a serious answer, not-"

"He is serious! Shigaraki has some sort of weapon that can kill him! Honest!"

The desperation in the villain's voices certainly indicated sincerity, but no amount of candor could possibly reconcile the discomfort in Todoroki's mind. _Kill...All Might?_

* * *

In the Ruins Zone, Bakugou was having the time of his life blasting villains with hardly a care. Furthermore, the only other student he encountered was probably the only one that he didn't need to worry about hurting in the cross fire.

"STUPID HAIR, AIM FOR THE THROAT, WILL YA? I'M TIRED OF PICKING UP YOUR SLACK!"

Kirishima shook his head as he tanked a punch from a villain before headbutting him in the nose, "Don't kill them, Bakugou! That's not manly!"

"WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT KILLING?" Bakugou growled back as he wrapped both hands around a rock villain and fired explosions simultaneously, "NOW DIE!"

It didn't take long for all the villains to fall unconscious between the onslaught of the two most combative students, "We oughta find the others and regroup, right?"

Bakugou looked at the downed evildoers and grit his teeth, "That fog bastard said they were looking for All Might, probably to kill him."

Kirishima scoffed, "Like that's an actual problem."

"SHUT IT, HAIR FOR BRAINS! THEY WOULDN'T BE HERE IF THEY WEREN'T SERIOUS!"

The redhead reflected for a moment, "I guess you have a point, but what can we do about that? Not like we can actually fight anything that can go toe to toe with All Might."

The explosive teen grit his teeth in a twisted grin, "Oh, we absolutely can! I'm going to be Number One and you're going to be my meat shield!"

Kirishima scratched his head, "I'm terrified and pumped at the same time, but let's do it!"

They burst out of the building and made their way out of the Ruins Zone to the central plaza, luckily - or unluckily, if you're Bakugou - not encountering any resistance.

That was, until they actually arrived at their destination. "Holy fuck."

* * *

 **Ten minutes prior**

Aizawa growled as the last of the villains fell down, completely wasted by the Pro. Unfortunately, he wasn't in much better condition.

 _My eyes are practically_ _screaming_ _._ True to his words, his eyes were bloodshot and red, but not because of his Quirk. _I need to rehydrate, but I still haven't finished off that prick with the hands or 'bird brain'._

Shigaraki chuckled as he approached Eraserhead, not even adjusting his steps to avoid stepping on his fallen comrades, "Man, Eraser...I know we're on opposite sides, but...you're just so cool!"

The latter grit his teeth and prepared his scarf defensively. _This guy hasn't done a thing, but he looks completely confident. He knows my Quirk and he just saw me beat his goons, so why is he approaching me like_ _I'm_ _the one in trouble?_

Aizawa didn't wait to find out; he charged the villains' leader and aimed an elbow at his face. While the attack landed, the villain moved at lightning speed, seizing the appendage firmly despite the blow.

"You're slowing down, Eraserhead. And your Quirk's getting weaker." Aizawa roared as he felt his elbow's skin decay away, revealing the musculature beneath.

Pulling back, Aizawa applied pressure to the wound, but eyed his opponent carefully. _He's fast...maybe even faster than me at full strength. I'll have to use my Quirk and disable him as fast as possible!_

Shigaraki tsked, "You're about to erase my Quirk, aren't you? Nomu, can you help me out?"

* * *

Izuku was not a fighter. That much was made evident after he threw one punch and nearly broke his hand by hitting with the wrong knuckles.

 _Okay, not a strong start. Just end this quickly and find the others._ He, Yaoyorozu and Kaminari appeared to be trapped in the Mountain Zone, surrounded by a sizeable group of villains.

"Midoriya, are you holding up alright?" His fellow Deputy Rep called as she effortlessly dispatched villains with a bo staff.

 _3% Detroit Smash!_ Izuku mentally exclaimed as he struck a villain - this time with only the first two knuckles - out cold with a right cross, "I'm fine. Kaminari?"

The electric-type cried as he ran from a small group of assailants, "I am not fine! I am very not fine!"

Yaoyorozu groaned and moved to help him. Izuku practically marveled at the ease with which she fought back her opponents, the tomoe of his Quirk spinning rapidly as they followed her movements. _Even with the Sharingan, I'm having trouble dealing with these many villains. No wonder she got in through recommendations._

"You should really pay attention, kid!" Izuku snapped out of his thoughts in time to feel a punch from a masked villain send him reeling.

"Midoriya, you okay?" Kaminari said as he pulled his friend up.

Izuku wiped some of the blood from his mouth, "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just a little dazed."

Yaoyorozu stood next to them, "This isn't good. We're backed against a wall, literally and figuratively. Kaminari, can you not remotely discharge your electricity?"

He shook his head, "Sorry, but I can't control the flow once it leaves my body. If I discharge, I'd probably shock you guys too. I don't think I'll be of much help!"

An idea popped into Izuku's head, "I have an idea. Yaoyorozu, can you make a scarf like Aizawa-sensei's, but conductive?"

A smirk of realization spread across her face, "I see. That won't take me too long. Can you keep them off us, Midoriya?"

Izuku nodded, feeling adrenaline spread throughout his body, "Got it!" He grabbed Yaoyorozu's bo and started pushing villains back, copying the moves he observed to the best of his ability.

 _My wrists aren't as flexible as hers, but thanks to One For All..._ Izuku charged his leading arm and brought the staff down on a villain's helmet, shattering it and knocking the person beneath instantly.

Then Izuku's eye twitched. _Dammit! I'm almost out of time with the Sharingan!_

Yaoyorozu came to the rescue, "Midoriya, it's done." She held a bundle of coppery cloth in her hands. She traded the scarf for her staff, a small smile on her face, "Make sure you wrap it around skin."

Izuku nodded, charging his power. _I can't move as fast as Aizawa-sensei, but the principles are the same. Grip the scarf loosely with my left hand, wrap it with my right, get it back to Kaminari. Focus One For All in my legs and..._

Izuku took off, tracing his own movements to Aizawa's with the increased speed afforded by 3%. Dodging and weaving under the villain's blows with his Sharingan, he quickly wrapped it around his opponents' exposed arms, ankles or necks. Anywhere he could find, really.

"Grr, buzz off kid!" The last villain charged Izuku, his fist encased in stone.

 _He's going for a haymaker. If I sweep the legs..._ With his supercharged leg muscles, Izuku easily knocked the footing out from under the villain, giving him the chance to wrap the scarf around his neck as he faceplanted.

Then Izuku threw the last piece of the fabric to Kaminari and shouted, "That fabric's a conductor! Put it all through your arm!"

Realization dawned on the latter's face and he grinned, "Now this is what I expect from my student council! Take this!" Kaminari channeled electricity through his arm, which travelled through the copper in the scarf through all the villains, essentially tasing the remaining seven in one go.

Izuku collapsed to the ground, laughing despite his exhaustion. His legs ached from accidentally going over his limit, his eyes stung from pushing the now-deactivated Sharingan, and his jaw still rang from the blow he took.

But dammit, he'd just fought villains. And he won!

"Man, Midoriya. Good call with the scarf move. That was pretty dope!" Kaminari complimented.

Yaoyorozu nodded, helping the greenette up, "That was a pretty good strategy to think up on the fly. Though how did you think about that?"

Izuku laughed sheepishly, "I sorta stole from Aizawa-sensei. Speaking of which, shouldn't we head back?"

Yaoyorozu nodded and pointed to the plaza where some fighting was certainly visible, "The only way down is to rappel. It'll take me a minute or so to create the gear."

Kaminari sweatdropped, "Man, Thirteen-sensei couldn't've made an elevator or something when he designed this place?"

Izuku chuckled, but a roar from something \- it didn't sound human - snapped him to attention, "That came from the plaza!" _Ugh, I can't see it from here and the Sharingan's timed out so I can't zoom in!_

"I can make some binoculars! It'll only be a minute."

Izuku grit his teeth, "No time! I can probably scale this cliff with my Quirk."

Kaminari grinned, "Then let's go!" He jumped onto Midoriya's back, "Lead on!"

"W-wha?" _I meant I'd go alone and you'd follow!_

Yaoyorozu rubbed her chin, "Hmm, I see. In that case-" She flung her arms around Midoriya's neck, "onwards, Midoriya!"

Izuku's face was bright red. _How do_ _neither_ _of them think this is weird?!_ It took an insurmountable amount of willpower to not look down as he leapt down the Mountain Zone, mostly because the girl he was currently carrying bridal-style was dressed as conservatively as debut-Midnight.

Once safely on the ground, Midoriya hugged himself, "Icanneverbecomeagroom.I' ."

"Midoriya, we should be heading out" Yaoyorozu tapped his shoulder, earning a shriek.

He whispered, "Just don't touch or look at me for a while. I'll be fine."

Then a snap like a gunshot reverberated throughout USJ followed by a roar of pain. Hurrying to the plaza where the sound originated, the trio's stomachs collectively dropped.

Aizawa was a mess. His arms were bent in right angles in the wrong way, his body looked battered and broken, and his face was practically streaming blood. The large bird-man was clutching his head, squeezing it as if it were a balloon ready to pop.

Shigaraki laughed at the sight of the Pro Hero, "Man, Eraserhead, I can't believe you're still conscious! You're really something else." The villain looked around the plaza littered with the unconscious forms of his cronies and, way in the back, a few "lucky" heroes.

Kaminari blanched, "Holy shit. Aizawa-sensei's in it bad right now."

"How should we proceed?" Yaoyorozu grit her teeth, a bead of sweat betraying the terror she felt at her teacher's peril.

"Midoriya, anymore bright ideas?"

He shook his head, "All I can think of is to sneak around behind them and attack them while they're dis...they're looking at us."

"They are?" Yaoyorozu looked at the villains and sharply inhaled, "They are."

Kaminari was practically shaking, "We gotta go. Now!"

They backed away slowly, trying not to attract any more attention, but it was too late.

"Great! I can grind some levels before the final boss!" Shigaraki exclaimed maliciously as he made a mad dash for the students.

Kaminari panicked and exclaimed, "Indiscriminate Shock: 1.3 Million Volts!" He cupped his hands together and fired a blinding stream of lightning at the ground, cracking the plaza's tile as electricity coursed towards Shigaraki. Luckily, Izuku and Yaoyorozu were able to jump out of range.

However, the villain leader managed to avoid the surge entirely by leaping with surprising force, soaring over the teens and landing behind them. "Man, that's a powerful Quirk! Guess you're gonna give a lot of EXP, huh?"

Izuku and Momo grouped together, the latter forming a new staff while the former readied One For All. The latter spoke first, "The Pros are probably already en route. You can't possibly escape. Surrender now!"

Izuku gulped. _Wish I had that confidence. This guy looks like a psychopath!_

"Hmm, so Kurogiri failed? That makes me mad." Shigaraki scratched his neck, but stopped to laugh once he realized something, "Big words, but you're shaking like a Rumble Pak. Why don't I help you stop?" He charged Yaoyorozu, his pale hand stretched towards her face.

But before he knew it, Izuku had dashed towards his co-Deputy Rep and extended his own fist out, sheer panic fueling him, "Detroit Smash!" A shockwave reverberated throughout the stadium as Izuku struck his target.

For a moment, he thought he'd saved the day. That euphoria was quickly lost, however, to horror once he realized that his target did not have black skin or a muscular figure. And he wasn't ten feet tall.

"Hmm, this kid pisses me off. Nomu, take care of him."

Before Izuku knew it, he felt an incredible pain in his right arm, the same that he'd punched Nomu with, as the latter gripped it with its massive fingers. Then, it threw the green hero-to-be a good fifty feet, making for a painful landing and a very broken forearm.

"Midoriya!" Yaoyorozu cried, "Kaminari, we need to-"

"Wheyyyyy" Kaminari's face was the definition of 'derp' as he repeatedly flashed a thumbs-up to everyone in sight.

Shigaraki laughed at the sight, "Not very bright. Nomu, finish the kid first. I hate heroes." He growled the last part, his seething rage filling the air with killing intent.

Nomu screeched in response and took off, vanishing in a burst of wind. Izuku channeled One For All and managed to leap partly out of the way, but was still knocked back by the force of Nomu punching the ground where he used to be, pulverizing the tiles.

 _This is crazy! He's nearly as fast as All Might! I need to buy Yaoyorozu and Kaminari time to escape! No time to hold back!_

Using his left arm to lift up his broken forearm, Izuku flicked his right hand, "Delaware Smash!" A cannon of air shot forth and knocked Nomu back several feet and leaving a slight indentation on its skin, which quickly filled out again.

Izuku clutched his broken thumb and middle finger, sliding his elbow pad down to his hand to act as a protective glove of sorts. _This_ _thing_ _tanked 100%? All Might's power?!_ _And_ _it can heal quickly?_

Shigaraki cocked his head, "Looks like we unlocked a secret boss. Those heroics...pushing my Nomu back...that move's name...it's like you're designed to piss me off!"

"Wheyyyy!" Kaminari bumped into Shigaraki, drooling slightly.

The villain boss turned to the fried blonde, "You're annoying." He casually reached a hand out towards the latter's throat but forgot an important detail in the wake of Izuku and this new distraction.

"Hya!" Yaoyorozu exclaimed as she cracked her staff across Shigaraki's face with enough force to break it. The leader crumpled to the ground, the hand covering his face falling off while his long blue hair took over obscuring it.

She immediately grabbed Kaminari and made a break for the stairs leading to the exit, "Midoriya, the leader's down!"

Overhearing this, the Nomu turned towards Shigaraki's unconscious body and screeched, forgetting all about Izuku and moving towards the former.

 _It's going to help him? This is my chance!_ Izuku used his good arm to carefully pull Aizawa onto his shoulders - minding the broken arms - and ran as fast as 3% allowed. _Sorry for the bumpy ride, sensei, but I can't leave you back there!_

* * *

By the entrance, Kurogiri was getting frustrated by the repeated attacks of the remaining students. Dodging acid, tape, and the anti-gravity fingertips was growing tiresome and the multi-limbed boy refused to give him an opening to escape.

 _Now that they know my weak point, I have to focus on using portals to redirect and avoid their attacks. And I still haven't recovered from Thirteen's attack or using my special move._

However, Kurogiri likewise prevented the students from either escaping or joining the fight, resolutely guarding the door so that Iida couldn't find an opening for longer than a second. And likewise, the students themselves were getting frustrated at their attempts to flee being thwarted by a cleverly placed portal.

"Shoji, have you found anyone?" Uraraka exclaimed as she narrowly missed the metal neckplate for the umpteenth time.

The masked teen shook his head, "Haven't been able to focus!" He tried to envelop the mist-man but failed to properly secure the main body as the latter slipped through his webbed limbs.

"Everyone!"

Shoji perked up, "I found someone!"

Mina sweatdropped while cutting off Kurogiri's path towards his leader with a spray of concentrated acid, "We all heard that, genius."

Yaoyorozu appeared from the stairs, barely winded from the long climb - much to Uraraka's jealous chagrin - with a laughing Kaminari in tow.

Kurogiri growled, "Those villains were even poorer than we thought." Unconsciously, he drifted towards the new threat, ready to engage.

 _This is my chance!_ Iida ignored his relief at the sight of more classmates to make a mad dash for the door, which Kurogiri had just left wide open.

"What?" Kurogiri cried as Iida raced past him and tried to shimmy his way through the door he left cracked open from his last attempt. Kurogiri reached out with a portal, fully intending to use it to bisect this particularly annoying student, but felt his real body become weightless.

"Iida, go now!" Uraraka cried as she pushed the villain up high. Iida finally made his way through and took off at max speed towards the main campus.

 _I need to report this! That's Game Over._ While the students diverted their attention, Kurogiri warped using his special, extra fast portal. Reappearing by Nomu and his master, the teleporter took a moment to recuperate. _Two quick portals and nonstop combat...I don't have much left in me._

Then he noticed the unconscious form of his 'boss'. _Apparently, neither does he._ "Shigaraki. Tomura Shigaraki. Nomu, could you wake him up?"

While the hulking beast didn't even acknowledge the presence of his master's right-hand man, the fallen young adult started to stir, "Ugh, critical hit." Shigaraki rubbed his face, only to recoil in shock after a second, "Father?"

Looking at the ground in a panic, Shigaraki began to seethe at the sight of the hand that used to obscure his face lying on the ground, "Father..." He replaced the 'mask' but his breathing was expressive enough to indicate his fury.

Kurogiri paled - or at least his equivalent of paling - "Shigaraki, do not do anything rash now. The Pros will be here soon."

Shigaraki started scratching his neck wildly, "Everything's going to shit, Kurogiri! I had a plan and nothing's worked!" He looked at those students, the pesky brats that ruined his nearly perfect plan. He glared at the tall girl who knocked Father off and then to the hero making his way to the stairs, clearly nursing his right arm while carrying Eraserhead on his left shoulder.

"Tomura Shigaraki, we should escape while we still can." Kurogiri reasoned, but his words fell on deaf ears.

"Nomu, stop that hero brat. I wanna play with him some more."

* * *

"Hey, could I get a hand?" Izuku cried to his classmates atop the stairs, "I don't really wanna drag him up all these stairs. He's in it pretty bad enough."

Sato looked down and grimaced at the sight of their broken teacher, "I'm on it. Sero, help me secure his arms and stop the bleeding."

The duo ran down the stairs and managed to secure Aizawa onto Sero's massive frame, all major injuries resolved thanks to Sero's Quirk, "You want me to tape up your arm, Midoriya? Looks pretty bad."

Izuku shook his head, "It's okay. The pain's not too bad anymore. Though that'll probably stop with the adrenaline."

Sato chuckled, "Tell me about it. I feel like once this stops I won't be able to mo..." The sugar-man's eyes widened, and he began to choke on his words.

Sero similarly seized up. Izuku raised an eyebrow, but realization dawned when he felt someone grip the back of his gym uniform.

"Deku!" Uraraka cried as Izuku was thrown back to the plaza by Nomu, landing painfully.

Nomu then pulverized the staircase with a single punch, which Sato and Sero narrowly avoided by respectively jumping and pulling themselves back up to the entrance.

Nomu then looked at the rest of the students and roared, flexing its massive arms threateningly. In response, Yaoyorozu stood in front of her classmates defensively, brandishing her third staff, "If we all attack it in a coordinated effort, we'll be able to defeat it!" _This isn't good! Without Aizawa-sensei or Thirteen-sensei, we're on our own until Iida gets back. And Bakugou, Todoroki, and Kirishima are probably the most combat-ready of us, but they're still not back yet!_

Izuku groaned as he sat up, nursing the shoulder he rolled onto. Nomu must've heard this because it immediately jumped back to the central plaza and stared down the injured student.

 _It's targeting me?! This is bad! I can't beat this monster!_ _But if I don't...it'll attack the others. So, I have to at least_ _stall_ _it until the Pros get here! I can do that at least!_

"Take this: Delaware Smash!" Izuku flicked his right index finger at the Nomu, biting his lip in pain as an air bullet rocketed towards the hulking beast's head, knocking it back a few meters. However, Nomu didn't retaliate.

Shigaraki approached from the side, leisurely strolling with a confident gait, "That attack...you're an All Might fan boy, right? Cuz that pisses me off!" He ran right for Izuku, fingers extended.

 _If he touches me, I'm dead! I need to avoid him, too!_ "Sharingan!" Ignoring the burning pain he felt from forcing his Quirk to activate, Izuku moved as fast as he could, even charging 3% of One For All in his legs to grant a speed burst.

"Your speed stat's really high! I hate that!" Shigaraki swiped at Izuku, only managing to snag a bit of fabric over his chest that quickly decayed away.

 _Crap! Faster! Faster! Faster!_ "5%!" Izuku exclaimed as he pushed the limits to what his body could handle, managing to now comfortably keep up with Shigaraki. He glared intently at the boss, doing his absolute best to keep track of his movements.

"Oh, you're faster? And your eyes...they're so intense! Now I'm really mad!" Shigaraki leapt back about 20 feet away from Izuku.

 _Now's my chance!_ "5% Detroit Smash!" Izuku leapt forward, ready to send his opponent packing. _I can see where he was hit earlier. If I strike there, he'll probably pass out!_

Unfortunately, Izuku never even made it there; Nomu appeared in a flash and slammed the former into the ground, nearly shattering his ribs with the blow.

"Gah!" Izuku coughed up blood, stars clouding most of his vision and pain blinding the rest. He could feel the beast's powerful hand crushing his torso against the jagged rubble, forcing his ribcage against his already sore lungs.

Nomu looked at Izuku and growled, as if about to pounce. Izuku couldn't help but think back to the important moments in his life, seeing how it was clearly about to end.

The day he first saw the video of All Might saving all those people in the collapsed building.

When he learned he was 'Quirkless' and his mother just apologized to him.

The time Kacchan and his 'friends' beat him up while their original victim escaped.

When he met All Might, got told off by All Might, then praised by All Might in the span of a few hours.

Recovery Girl telling him that he actually had a Quirk.

Getting into UA.

Finally catching up to Kacchan.

 _I still have so much left to do!_ "G...off..." He clawed at the hand on his chest, ignoring the searing pain in his right arm.

Nomu looked at Izuku almost quizzically, unable to decipher the pained gasping.

"t...ff...m" Izuku's eyes felt like they were on fire, but so did the rest of him.

Nomu, with its simple mind, couldn't help but get hypnotized by the glowing red in his victim's eyes, the two tomoe spinning so rapidly they appeared to be a solid black ring around his pupils.

There was a loud sound like a bang, "WHY CAN'T YOU EVER SAVE YOURSELF, YOU DAMN NERD?!" Bakugou blasted his way in and launched a powerful blast at Nomu's back, forcing the beast to lighten his grip in pure surprise.

"Get...off me!" Izuku finally hissed. In that moment, he heard a ringing sound and his eyes positively screamed in pain. But Nomu complied, removing his hand from Izuku while still kneeling over him.

"Nomu, what're you doing?!" Shigaraki cried in panic to no avail.

But more shockingly, Nomu's normally blank eyes were now glowing red, with two tomoe surrounding the pupil.

 _What the..._

Izuku didn't let himself dwell on the fact. He had a mission. _Gotta stop him now! If he fights All Might...if he fights the others...I need to stop him_ _now_ _!_ Izuku couldn't make a fist so he focused One For All into his palm, much like he did against Bakugou, but now at full power.

Green lightning swarmed Izuku's right hand, crackling with such ferocity, the ground beneath it crumbled away. "Take this!" Izuku roared as he pushed his hand against Nomu's head, forcing all the power he could muster out.

There was a bright flash and a Nomu screech. Then the latter was sent flying back, a massive chunk of his head missing while the rest crackled with green lightning. It landed on the ground with a THUD.

Izuku looked at the fallen monster and laughed, an incredible lightness filling his body. Then he collapsed back.

Bakugou was at a loss for words. The students at the top of the entrance, struggling to find a way to help out were at a loss for words. Yaoyorozu and Sero, who had rappelled down to aid in the inevitable injuries that would result, were at a loss for words. The villains were certainly at a loss for words.

"Midoriya!" Kirishima broke the silence in the compound by charging towards his fallen classmate, propping his unconscious body up, "Christ, your hand..."

Sero and Yaoyorozu managed to pull themselves together and ran over as well, the latter already producing bandages and antiseptic to treat the greenette.

Bakugou couldn't stop staring for the life of him. _That blast...! When did you catch up like that?!_

"Grr! Goddammit!" Shigaraki clawed at his neck until blood drew at the sight of his Nomu. The head wound was taking its sweet time to regenerate and even then, it was unclear if Nomu would have the stamina to fight anymore. "My Anti-Symbol of Peace...defeated by a child?!"

Tomura looked at the unconscious boy, currently having his bloody hand wrapped up in fresh gauze. "That kid..." Before he himself knew it, Shigaraki was headed right for Midoriya, killing intent on full display.

He got pretty close too and might've succeeded in disintegrating his target, if not for a giant ice wall.

"And I was worried you might be able to kill All Might." Todoroki deadpanned as he pulled his right hand back, mist wafting off of his fingertips. _The large one's supposed to be the 'weapon.' But he's down...and the only other one that's down is Midoriya. How did he do this?_

Shigaraki didn't have time for another rant because Bakugou managed to pull himself together and aim his remaining gauntlet at the former, "YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T GET TO SHOW OFF SINCE DEKU DESTROYED THE OTHER ONE, BUT TAKE THIS! DIE!"

He pulled the pin on the gauntlet, sending a massive explosion towards the villain boss. The ice wall shattered under the pure force of the blast, which also sent Shigaraki flying back towards Kurogiri. The fireball itself filled the air with the acrid stench of smoke while obscuring either side from each other.

"Ugh...Kurogiri..." Shigaraki groaned, shiny red burns dotting his body.

The warp man appeared through the smoke, "I'm here, Tomura. We should leave now."

The boss was silent but nodded.

"Shall I retrieve Nomu?" Kurogiri expanded his form into a portal large enough for Tomura to enter through.

Shigaraki nodded again, "He's still healing so he's not dead, but that brat's attack completely surpassed his shock absorption. I doubt he'd be able to fight All Might now."

Kurogiri didn't say much else as he summoned another portal beneath the nearly-regenerated Nomu, "Don't worry, Shigaraki. This is only the beginning."

They disappeared around the same time as the smoke did. Coincidentally, the rest of the villains started to wake up around the same time.

"H-hey, what happened?"

"Shigaraki's gone! So's the big guy!"

"The students...they're still here though!"

"Wait, so they beat the boss? All Might's not here either!"

"Who cares, let's kill them! Then we'll kill All Might!"

There was a crash and a furious voice, " **I wouldn't be so sure about that.** "

* * *

 **Later That Night**

Izuku awoke with a start, his heart racing as he desperately searched for Shigaraki and his beast. "What the...where am I?" He looked at the white walls and flooring, as well as the curtains around him.

"You're in the nurse's office, Young Midoriya." Izuku turned to the speaker and came face to face with All Might in his skinny form, sitting right next to his bed.

"A-All Might? Are you okay? What about everyone else? Thirteen-sensei? Aizawa-sensei?!" Izuku began to sweat.

All Might couldn't help but laugh at the irony of his protégé's concern, "Your classmates are all fine. Many of them are actually still here, waiting to get picked up by their families. I arrived only shortly after you passed out and defeated the remaining villains."

The Pro's face took on a slightly darker look, "As for your teachers...I'm afraid Aizawa and Thirteen are both in the ICU. They're expected to make recover, but...they're not in the best of health.

"Although, for that matter, neither are you."

Izuku looked at his body and nearly freaked out at the number of bandages surrounding his torso and right arm. "I look like a mummy...what happened to me?"

All Might cleared his throat and pulled out a clipboard, "Recovery Girl had to go check on your teachers at the real hospital, but she healed your broken ribs and arm as well as replacing the skin on your hand. She said you might have some hairline fractures left, but healing those might drain your stamina. You have small tears in your leg muscles-"

"Probably from when I overdid it with One For All when I tied the villains up." Izuku murmured.

"-and your hand is permanently scarred, but other than that, you're fine."

There was some silence in the room before both student and teacher cried, "Wait, what?!"

Izuku ripped the bandages off his right hand and sucked in his breath at the sight, much like his mentor. His right hand had two scars along the palm and his fingers were slightly crooked. The skin also looked slightly pink, but given that it was essentially regrown, that was to be expected.

The Symbol of Peace looked down, "I'm...so sorry, Young Midoriya. If I was quicker...if I was there today to begin with...This is my fault. We were just lucky that Young Sero and Yaoyorozu were able to stop the bleeding."

Izuku shook his head, "It's not your fault, All Might. I did this to myself, even after Aizawa-sensei told me not to."

All Might gulped, internally giddy that his student harbored him no ill will, "Well...at least there's no damage to its function. And you know, uh...I heard that girls like scars..." _As if I know anything about that._

Izuku just sighed, "I guess that's the price for not mastering One For All. Oh! But I was able to control 3%! And I did do something really cool with it!"

"Hmm, what's that?"

Izuku held out his hand, "I couldn't make a fist so I concentrated it into my palm and then it started sparking like crazy! And when I hit the Nomu, everything exploded!" Suddenly, Izuku paled, "W-wait...what about the Nomu? And the villain boss!"

All Might shook his head, "We didn't get them. They left with that warp Quirk guy. All we got from the captured villains were their names: Tomura Shigaraki and Kurogiri."

He put a hand to his chin, "But you concentrated One For All into essentially your skin to produce explosive power while preserving your bones...that's actually kinda ingenious."

"Huh, really?"

All Might shrugged, "Yeah. Breaking your bones might cause longer lasting damage, but skin is a bit easier to heal, especially with Recovery Girl. Although, I doubt that it's anywhere near as powerful as the punch you used against the Zero Pointer."

Izuku nodded, "Yea. And I haven't trained enough to regulate where I focus One For All so my control is pretty bad."

"Well with the Sharingan, you were able to control 3% after only a few days. So learning that shouldn't be too hard."

"Oh! One more thing!"

All Might muttered, "Jesus, kid. I can't take many more surprises for today."

"I looked at Nomu for a moment with the Sharingan and...I don't know...it was like I could control him, you know? Like I could just insert whatever I wanted into his mind and he'd do it. You get what I'm saying, All...Might?"

All Might was shaking, "S-scary." _That sounds familiar though._

"All Might?!"

The hero cleared his throat, "Well, maybe it's another ability of the Sharingan. You know how you activated it?"

"I just...really wanted him to get off of me. Then I looked at him in the eye and he just...got off of me."

"Hmm...it sounds like a dangerous power. The ability to control others through eye contact. I'll speak to Recovery Girl about it, but I don't think you should use it too often. Lots of ethical quandaries with a power like that."

All Might cleared his throat, "Anyways, that's enough serious talk for now. It's late and I'm sure your mother is worried about you. Your classmates certainly are."

All Might gingerly helped Izuku into a fresh UA jacket and ensured his bandages were still securely tied. Then he led Izuku back to outside Class 1A, where many of his classmates were still waiting to be taken home.

"This is where I must leave you. I'm afraid I can't maintain my muscle form any longer."

Izuku nodded, "Thanks, All Might. You know...for everything."

The Pro seemed taken aback, but smiled, "Of course, Midoriya, my boy. Enjoy the weekend as much as you can."

Midoriya nodded and quietly entered the classroom, only to nearly jump into the ceiling in surprise.

"Hey, Midoriya's back!" Kirishima practically shouted, running to his friend.

"Midoriya! Glad to see you in good health!" Iida saluted his fellow class officer with a relieved smile.

Kaminari twitched, "H-hey, Midoriya! S-sorry for the t-twitch. Happens after I o-o-overdo it."

Jiro just chuckled from behind, "Heyyyyy, Midoriya. I heard you were 'wheyyyyyyy' cool."

Kaminari blushed, "T-that's not f-funny, J-j-ji-ji..." He couldn't say her name, much to her amusement.

"Midoriya, good to see that you're mostly recovered." Yaoyorozu smiled.

"Oh! Yaoyorozu, I heard you and Sero gave me first aid. Thank you!" Izuku bowed, slightly blushing from the overwhelming well-wishes.

She waved him off, "It was nothing. You helped me earlier with the villain boss. Although..." She sighed, "I feel like I should apologize."

"Huh? W-what for?"

"It's just that...I thought you were too shy and awkward and...well...jumpy to be a hero."

Izuku laughed sheepishly. _She and everyone else..._

"But you were the most decisive out of all of us today. I guess I just want to apologize for judging you harshly and thank you for teaching me I still have a ways to go." She bowed deeply, much to Izuku's embarrassment.

"N-no, I'm definitely super shy and weird and awkward! You don't have to apologize at all. I should be apologizing!" He bowed right back.

"No, no! I insist that I was wrong. I'm sorry you feel the need to feel sorry!" She bowed even faster.

This continued for some time until even Iida muttered, "This seems excessive."

Kirishima just laughed, "From you, that's ironic."

The only thing that could've stopped the bowing-battle burst through the door at that moment, "Iiiizuuuuuu!"

"Gah! M-mom, my ribs!"

* * *

Shigaraki Tomura growled as Kurogiri applied a bandage to his head wound, "Beaten...by low-level NPCs...this is humiliating."

Kurogiri placated, "Patience, Shigaraki. Your victory will come in time."

A rich, deep voice sounded from the TV, " **Listen to Kurogiri, Tomura. Today's battle may have been lost, but the war is far from over. It's only just begun. And today you laid the foundation for their defeat.**"

"But, Sensei...I didn't even get to the final boss. Nomu was defeated before then!"

A sigh escaped the powerful voice, " **Well, that's unfortunate, but at least you recovered him. Losing a Nomu this powerful would've been a tremendous waste. And now, I can make him even stronger than before.** "

Shigaraki groaned as the antiseptic burned his wound, "But Nomu was beaten by someone so...tiny. Was it really a miniboss?"

" **This boy that defeated him...what was his Quirk?** "

"Some sort of enhancement Quirk. Incredibly powerful, but it caused him damage at full power from what I saw." Kurogiri explained, "Although the attack that injured Nomu was interesting. It was more electricity than brute force."

" **The electricity...what color was it?** "

Kurogiri raised an intangible eyebrow, "Hmm? It was...green, maybe?"

The voice chuckled, " **Hmm, yellow to blue to green. Funny.** "

"Sensei?"

" **Never mind me, Tomura. Just an old man's musings. Anyways, we merely underestimated these students, but it won't happen again, yes?** "

Shigaraki growled, "Never. I'll never forget those damned eyes again."

" **Eyes? What eyes?** "

* * *

 **Even Later That Night**

Izuku slowly trudged down the stairs of his apartment complex, garbage bag in tow. After coming home - after his mother nearly flooded UA with her tears - the Midoriyas feasted on katsudon and cried. Then they ate more katsudon and cried more. Sometimes, they did both at the same time.

Either way, Inko passed out from exhaustion, worry, dehydration, or - most likely - a combination of all three. Leaving Izuku to clean, which he didn't mind doing.

Approaching the dumpster, Izuku threw the bag over the metal container's walls and took a moment to smile at a job well done, interrupted only by a whimpering, "Oww."

His hair stood up straight and his skin bleached. _Again?!_ "Is someone there?" He took extra care to listen, but didn't hear anything. _I'm sure I heard it this time, but to be sure..._ "Sharingan!"

Izuku scanned the dumpster for life signs. _A few rats, a couple bugs, a kid, more rats..._ "What the hell?!"

Izuku got really close to the dumpster. _That's definitely a human. It's a child. She's shaking.._."I k-know you're in there."

There was a small gasp and Izuku could see the glowing form of the child through his Sharingan tense up, "You should come out and go home. Your parents are probably worried."

There was no response so Izuku sighed, deactivated his Sharingan, and pulled himself up and over the edge of the dumpster, favoring his left arm for obvious reasons. _Great. Now I need to clean my shoes._ He looked around, but didn't see anything where the child was supposed to be save for a filthy mop... _wait. Wasn't that in the recycling yesterday?_

Izuku dug around the mop, which actually turned out to be hair. And the source of the voice was indeed a child. A small girl with teary red eyes and a large horn at that.

Izuku smiled, "There you are. You should really go home. It's super late."

She didn't respond, but stared at him fearfully, trying to shift back in the filth, as if to seek comfort in the camouflage it provided.

 _What the heck?_ "H-hey, it's okay. I want to help you! I'm a student at UA. My name's Izuku, what's yours?" He extended his right hand out to show good will.

She didn't say anything at first, but widened her eyes at his arm, "Did...did they get you too?"

Izuku cocked his head, "They? Who's they?" _What does she mean "too"?_

The girl gestured to her arms, which were also covered in bandages, although rather poorly. _That can't be hygienic anymore. What happened to this girl?_

"Hey, it's...it's okay. I'm going to be a hero. I'll protect you if you're scared." Izuku reached out and cupped her cheek, flashing his best 'All Might' brand smile.

At first, the girl seemed to shirk away, but she gradually leaned into his hand, eyes tearing up.

"H-hey, I'm sorry. I didn't want to scare you."

He tried to pull his hand back, but she gasped when he did so and instinctively grabbed it and placed it back on her cheek. While she didn't smile, the corner of her lips tugged outwards slightly.

Izuku smiled again, this time as genuinely as he could, "Let's try this again. My name's Izuku. What's yours?"

"...Eri." She whispered, still clutching his hand to her face as if fearful that he'd disappear.

He smiled at her, "It's nice to meet you, Eri. I promise, it's all gonna be okay now. Wanna know why?"

"...why?"

"Because I am here."

She looked at him quizzically but nodded after a moment, her eyes shining and her lips tugging as far up as she seemed capable of doing, "Izu...ku..."

 _We should probably get out of the trash soon..._

* * *

 **BOOM. First major arc DONE. Now's the fun stuff!**

 **For the Flood Zone stuff, I really just wanted an excuse to play with Mineta. He's supposed to be a smart cookie (he did outwit Midnight) and I feel like this was a good way to have him show more character than just being a pervert. Which I have such wonderful plans for.**

 **As for pairings, I'm still deciding (its not just votes for me), but regardless of my choice, I defintely want both Ochako and Momo to be bigger parts of this story. They're just too much fun not to.**

 **Anyways, sorry this took so long, again, but I hope the result was worth it! It felt like it to me.**

 **Also, extra credit to whoever can guess what I'm foreshadowing for future arcs. I had quite a bit of it in this chapter, but we'll see.**


	7. Eri

**Oh y'all already know what it is. It's the fun stuff. The OG shit. That's right...enjoy the PURE, ORIGINAL FLUFF!  
**

* * *

 _Chapter 7: Eri_

* * *

"Mom."

"Mmm."

"Mom."

"Mmmmm."

"Mom!"

"Mmmmmmm. Wha?" Inko tiredly groaned, barely opening her eyes off the couch.

Izuku held something up with both arms, "I found a kid in the dumpster."

"That's impossible. Japan doesn't allow those kinds of doctors."

Sweatdropping at the exhausted candor his mother displayed, Izuku continued while setting Eri down, "Can we keep here for tonight? I can take her to the police station in the morning to find her family."

Inko waved him away, "Sure thing, baby. Just...brush your teeth."

Izuku sighed, "Yes mom."

Izuku led Eri towards the hallway leading to the bedrooms and the bathroom, "My room's right there."

She pointed at his door with her free hand, the other tightly gripping his newly-crooked right hand, "It says Izuku." True to her words, the All Might decorative sign had his name printed on it.

Izuku blushed slightly, "Well...I sorta wanted some more All Might stuff for my room..." _Is it weird to still have all this stuff even after I became his successor?_

Eri yawned, which was adorable, but also released a toxic scent into the air that even made Inko shift in the other room.

Izuku clutched his nose, "Forgot you've been in a dumpster for the last couple days. Come on, you need a bath." He led her to the washroom and handed her a towel from beneath the cabinet, "I'll find some clothes for you so wash up, okay?"

"Okay."

"..."

"..."

"...Eri, you need to let go of my hand to take a bath."

This, apparently, was news to her, "W-what? B-but..." Tears began to fill the child's eyes and her lip started to quiver as the hand clutching Izuku's only tightened, "I-I don't wanna let go!"

Izuku felt a protective instinct wash over him and he knelt down to pat his temporary ward's head, "It's okay, Eri. We don't have to let go if you don't want to." _Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why would you say that?! She_ _needs_ _to take a bath. And probably soak her mouth in hydrogen peroxide. But now...now what do I do?!_

The answer: Izuku had to give her a bath. His face tinted crimson, Izuku set about bathing the child in a tub brimming with bubbles. _Kids like bubbles...right? Right._

It took quite a lot of effort to scrub the grime and muck out of young Eri's hair, but it was worth it to see the brilliant white of her locks as opposed to the dingy gray he confused for a used mop. Her skin was peach colored beneath the layer of grime she built up hiding outside and her horn was a yellow-brown color.

But she was hesitant to remove the filthy bandages on her arms. "Eri, it's okay. I need to clean your arms, but I can't do that if these are on. I promise, I'll replace them with fresh, clean ones, okay?"

She looked away, but slowly relented with a slight nod, holding her arms out of the bubbly water. Moving slowly, Izuku unwrapped her arms, nearly vomiting when he saw countless scratches and scars, almost like incision lines, dotting both forearms.

 _Who...how...what happened to her?_ Izuku held his opinions - and bile - inside, too scared to possibly hurt or scare her. Instead, he forced a smile, "M-much better. Thanks, Eri!" He trashed the filthy rags and continued.

He finished bathing her, being particularly ginger with her arms, which she preferred to keep hidden under the protective layer of bubbles floating atop the water and dried her off.

"Okay...now to find something for you to wear." Izuku looked at the smock she had on earlier. _That's a no go. I probably need to burn it first. I don't know where Mom keeps my old clothes, but maybe..._

Izuku picked the girl up by swaddling her in the towel and carried her to his room, where he promptly dressed her in an All Might shirt. Sure, it was Izuku's size and fit over her like a dress, but goddammit, it was adorable.

"Izuku...my arms." She whispered, hiding her arms in the massive sleeves.

"O-oh, right. Be right back." While he tried to leave her, apparently, she had other ideas, so he ended up carrying her to the kitchen, where he managed to pry her off long enough to grab the bandages from the medicine cabinet.

As he re-wrapped her arms in the pristine white cloth, she murmured, "Did...did the doctor get you, too?"

Izuku looked at her quizzically, "The doctor? What do you mean?"

She pointed to the bandages on his right arm, "Do...you have scars, too?"

 _So some doctor did this too her? Did her family know? Did they do it?_ "Uh, no, no. I...uh...I sorta did this to myself." Izuku sheepishly chuckled.

"How?"

"W-well, I have a...powerful Quirk, but it hurts me to use it at full power."

She looked at his arm, her small hands following the bandages' creases and folds around Izuku's arm, "Why do you use it then?"

"Hmm?"

She avoided his gaze and whispered, "If your Quirk hurts, why do you use it?"

Izuku thought for a second before replying with a slight smile, "Because I want to control it."

This made the girl snap her attention to him, "Huh?"

He nodded, "If I can control it, then I could save a lot more people, right? And the only way to get better at using it is to practice."

"Even when it hurts?"

"Especially when it hurts."

"But...what if it hurts other people?"

That made Izuku shut up. The expression on Eri's face was conflicted, as if what Izuku was saying was causing her strife, "Eri," he spoke softly, "does your Quirk hurt others?"

She gasped and looked at him but nodded after seeing the compassionate look in his eyes.

 _No point in talking down to her._ Izuku gave a small smile, "You know, my Quirk could hurt people really badly, too."

"R-really?"

"Mmhmm. Today, I had to fight a lot of villains. If I wasn't careful, I could've really hurt them, maybe even kill them."

Her eyes were wide, both with awe and recognition, "Did you...k-kill anyone?"

He shook his head, "No. Because I've practiced and practiced and practiced. Sure I still hurt myself, but that'll change, too."

Eri looked down in thought, but her lip corners' tugged upwards in what Izuku recognized as her rendition of a smile, "Practice..." She yawned and Izuku became blatantly aware that it was nearly 2 in the morning.

"Come on, let's get some sleep." He led the small child by hand to his room and placed her on the bed, "You can sleep here tonight. I'll be right here." He gestured to his desk chair.

Eri nodded, but still didn't let go of his hand.

Izuku sighed, but smiled at the cute gesture, "Do you want me to hold your hand while you sleep?"

She nodded again so Izuku pulled his chair next to his bed and did his best to get comfortable while still holding the child with his left hand.

"I-Izuku?"

"Hmm, yeah? What is it?"

She looked away from him, her cheeks slightly red, "Can I...hold your right hand instead?"

Izuku raised an eyebrow, "You sure? It's kinda...crooked now." _Jesus, I'm never gonna get used to that._

Eri shook her head, "I-I like it better. It matches."

He felt his heart clench at the adorableness and relented, turning his chair around 180 degrees to switch hands.

* * *

 **The Next Morning**

Inko sighed as she checked the clock. _10 AM is late for Izuku. He's normally out by 5 to workout. Although maybe he's just tired from yesterday._ The mother nearly burst into tears remembering the phone call she got from UA explaining the attack at the USJ facility and her son's injuries.

 _Maybe I should just check on him. See if he's doing okay._ She exited the kitchen and cracked open Izuku's door. _Jeez, he didn't even go to sleep in his bed? Ugh and that angle...his neck is gonna_ _kill_ _him when he wakes up._

Mama Midoriya gently shook her child, "Come on, kiddo. Time to get up. I've got breakfast."

Izuku stirred and opened his bleary eyes, "M-mom?" He straightened out, earning a nasty crack from his neck and a sympathetic grimace from his mom.

"What time is it?" He asked wearily.

"Little past 10. I know that's late for you so I didn't want you to completely ruin your sleep schedule."

Izuku nodded and yawned, stretching his left arm out.

Inko smiled and quietly moved out the room, "There's a lot of food whenever you're ready. I have plenty so your friend can have some, too."

Izuku nodded and his mom exited the room. Three seconds passed before Inko burst back into the room and exclaimed, "W-W-W-WHAT?!"

Curled up in Izuku's lap was a small child tightly gripping his right hand and clad in one of his All Might novelty shirts.

Inko sputtered, "H-ho...w-wha..."

Izuku looked down and raised an eyebrow, "Huh, she moved." _Don't know why I had to sleep in the chair then._

"W-why do you have a toddler?" Inko managed to squeak.

"Huh? Remember I told you about her last night? I found her in the dumpster and brought her inside."

Inko vaguely remembered some sort of disruption after she fell asleep, but clearly her son's words didn't register at the time, "W-well, I guess it can't be helped. After you both wash up, come get some breakfast. We can talk about it then."

Izuku nodded and looked down at the slowly awakening child, "Good morning, Eri. Sleep well?"

She yawned cutely and nodded, rubbing her eyes. Suddenly, her eyes shot open and she frantically jumped to the ground, looking around the room as if searching for something.

"Wha? Eri, are you okay?"

She continued to examine every detail before suddenly stopping, her eyes welling up with tears, "I thought...I thought it was a dream." She whimpered.

"Aww, Eri..." Izuku knelt down and wrapped his arms around the girl protectively, which she reciprocated by desperately seizing his shirt and burying her face in his chest.

They held each other for a while before her grip loosened, which Izuku took to mean that she was okay. He pulled back and dabbed at her face, "I'm not going anywhere. I promise." She nodded slowly, almost hesitantly.

Izuku chuckled and took her by the hand, using the damaged one, as per her preference, "Are you hungry? My mom's a really good cook."

He took the roaring sound of her stomach to mean 'yes' and led to the bathroom to clean up before taking her to the dining room.

Inko watched her son carefully as he sat the young girl to his right, still holding onto her tightly, "So...what's your name, sweetie?" She flashed a comforting smile, trying her best to mask her confusion at the situation.

The child looked to Izuku, almost as if asking permission, speaking only when he nodded with a comforting smile, "Eri." Her voice was soft and quiet.

"Eri. That's a very pretty name." The little girl's cheeks flushed slightly, and she nodded in response. _Not much of a talker. It's lucky I have experience in kids like that._ "Well, Eri, where are you from?"

The girl took her time to answer, "Underground."

"Hmm? Is your house underground? That's interesting. Do you know the address? Where can we take you?"

Her eyes shot open and she frantically seized Izuku's sleeve, whimpering, "N-no! I-I don't wanna go back to Kai! Please!"

Inko's eyes widened at the sudden panic, but she nodded with a comforting smile as Izuku slowly rubbed the young girl's back, "It's okay, sweetie. You can stay here for as long as you like."

This seemed to calm the child down greatly and she settled down, though she still clung to Izuku like he was her lifeline.

"I should introduce myself, huh? My name's Inko. I'm Izuku's mom. It's really nice to meet you, Eri."

"Inko..." Eri said the name as if testing how it sounded.

Izuku smiled at this, "Eri, what're you hungry for?"

She looked at him quizzically, "What do you mean?"

"Hmm? I mean what do you want to eat?"

Her eyes sparkled and her mouth opened wide, "Y-you mean...I can choose?"

Inko wanted to laugh at the innocent look, but she had a feeling Eri's inexperience was slightly morbid in origin, "Of course, sweetie. We have bacon, eggs, rice, fruit, muffins-"

"Fruit?"

The older woman smiled. _That's something._ "Sure! We have bananas and oranges and apples. If you don't like those, we can go buy something you like."

"Apples?" Eri's mind conjured up a faint recollection of a red orb with dark spots. The inside was yellow-brown and slightly mushy, but its flavor was incredible. Drool started leaking out of the girl's mouth, much to her caretakers' amusement.

Inko quickly sliced up an apple from the fruit bowl and laid the even wedges on a plate in front of the girl. Izuku smiled expectantly, eager to see the child enjoy something.

Eri poked at the fruit with her fork. The exterior was so...shiny. There were no brown splotches on its bright red flesh. Meanwhile, the inside was more of a white than the darker color she remembered, and it was quite firm, despite the sheen indicating high moisture.

But its flavor was even better than she remembered.

"Mmm." Her face lit up upon biting into the fruit, "Shweet." She murmured, her voice slightly muffled by the food.

Izuku's face likewise lit up, "Well, she likes apples a lot. That's good." He remarked to his mom.

Inko smiled at the sight, but whispered to her child, "What happened? Where did you find her?"

Izuku relayed the story of how he found the child hiding using his Quirk the night before, "I think she's hiding from her parents or something."

Inko nodded thoughtfully, grateful the child was happily munching on her breakfast rather than pay attention to the conversation, "You think they gave her those scars, too?"

He nodded, "Based on how she panicked when we offered to take her back, yea. Thing is, she never mentioned a mom or dad. Only someone called 'doctor'."

"Hmm, I guess we should call the police first and have them handle this. For all we know, she was kidnapped and her real family's looking for her."

 _Oh crap! I never even thought about that. Although...I get a bad feeling about leaving her alone._ "I need to make a call." Izuku announced, standing up.

"Huh? Who?" Inko was surprised at the sudden proclamation.

The question stumped poor, hasty Izuku, "U-uh...ummm...just a friend!" He ran off before his mother could respond and hid in his room, hastily dialing one of two numbers he had memorized.

A few rings passed before, "Hello?"

"All Might!" Izuku hissed, "I have a problem..."

On the other line, All Might was holding the phone away from his ear as his pupil started rambling, "Young Midoriya, I can't understand you. Talk slower."

"S-sorry. I found a kid hiding out in a dumpster by my house and I think she was abused or something cuz she has these scars on her arm, but that's not the point."

All Might sweatdropped. _How is he talking slowly while_ _still_ _rambling?_

"Anyways, my mom and I tried to find out where she's from, but she's completely terrified to go back to wherever she's from and I was wondering if you knew what I should do?"

The Symbol of Peace thought for a moment before responding, "Well, procedure in cases like this is to place the child into the care of the police. They can take the investigation from there."

"Y-yeah, but she sorta..."

A light knocking on Izuku's door and a timid, yet nervous voice interrupted him, "Izuku?"

 _Eri! Crap._ He opened the door, "Hi, Eri. What's up?"

She fiddled with the hem of her t-shirt/dress, "You were gone...I thought you left." Her eyes started to glisten, and a wave of guilt washed over the teen. She lifted her left hand, reaching for his right.

"Oh, Eri, I'm sorry. I just had a call."

He reciprocated the gesture and pulled her into the room, sitting her on the bed with him while he finished talking. She leaned against him, earning another 'heart clench.'

 _Dammit, she's too much!_ "U-uh, All Might?"

A soft chuckle came from the other line, "I heard everything. No worries. She sounds cute."

Izuku laughed nervously, "Uh, she is, yeah. But, I don't know if I could leave her."

"Young Midoriya, I assure you, the police are the best people to handle this situation."

"N-no, I mean...she might not let me go."

The line was silent for a moment, "Hmm. It's not uncommon for kidnapped or abused children to fixate on their rescuers. In that case, separating her from you might be detrimental. Can you list some of her features? I'll have a friend on the force look into it first."

"Oh, sure. Name's Eri. E-R-I. She's about 5 or 6, I think. White hair, light skin, red eyes. A horn on the right side of her head. About a meter tall or so."

"Got it. I'll have him look for any matching description. In the mean time, bring her to me and Recovery Girl. We're at the hero ward at Musutafu General. I'll meet you in the lobby."

So after assuring his mother that he was taking Eri to a trusted specialist and then assuring Eri that they were going somewhere safe, it was only an hour train ride to the hospital - the entire duration of which, Eri spent clinging to Izuku's arm like a lifeline.

Entering the hospital, the duo was instantly greeted by 'Small Might', "Yo, Young Midoriya." He looked at the small child tightly gripping his protégé's arm, "And you must be Young Eri. Hello!" Then he noticed the shirt she was using as a dress. _So otaku but so cute!_

She shyly bowed to the man, still clutching Izuku with both hands.

All Might smiled, "Hmm. At least she didn't scream. Most children tend to do that when I'm in this form." _I get the feeling it's not because she's necessarily brave, though._ "Here, come with me. Recovery Girl's still treating Aizawa and Thirteen so we'll need to go inside the specialty ward."

Leading the duo of minors through a special set of elevator doors, All Might flashed a card - which Izuku recognized as his hero license - in front of a sensor, triggering the lights behind the floor buttons, "The hero ward's locked to the public so you need a license or a provisional license to enter. Or you can get special permission from the front desk or another hero."

Getting off on the fourth floor, he led them down a pristine white hall and into a large room with several beds, but only one occupant, "Why are you here?"

Izuku paled, "A-Aizawa-sensei! Y-you look...w-well!" That was a lie. The Erasure Hero was covered in bandages from head-to-toe, his arms being especially secured by a cast. _How is he even conscious?_

The hero's eyes narrowed from the small holes left open from the white cloth, "Again, why are you here? This is for heroes only. And why do you have a kid? And why are you in that form in front of a student?" He directed at All Might.

Izuku started sweating. _That's a lot of questions with complicated answers. Maybe All Might can answer. Yeah, there's no way he'd bring us to Aizawa if he didn't think of something!_ He looked at his mentor expectantly.

 _Shiiiiiiit! I thought he was asleep! Maybe Young Midoriya can think of something? He's smart!_ He looked at his student expectantly.

They both had the same thought. _Oh no._

"Your arms...did the doctor get you too?"

The three males turned to the small child, who was looking curiously at Aizawa. _Eri to the rescue!_ The One For All users praised the child in their minds.

The injured hero narrowed his eyes but nodded, "The doctor bandaged them up, but a villain broke them. Why?"

She held out her right arm and softly answered, "We match."

The hero's stare softened slightly but hardened once he turned his attention back to the other men, "You didn't answer my question. Explain you-ow."

Recovery Girl shook her head, lowering the cane she just rapped Aizawa with, "Now, now. Shota, how many times do I need to tell you to be nicer to people? Besides, Midoriya over there saved your life, from what I understand. You ought to be nicer."

Aizawa just sighed, "You broke your arm again. Learn to control your Qui-ow."

"What did I just say? Honestly, so callous, this one."

Izuku made the mistake of chuckling, earning a rap of his own.

"Why are you laughing, young man? He's right, you know. Your injuries were nothing to scoff at. You're lucky to still have all your ribs!"

"Y-yes, ma'am." _S-scary!_

Recovery Girl cleared her throat and smiled down at the child hiding behind Izuku's leg, "Hello, young woman. My name's Recovery Girl. What's yours?"

"E-Eri."

The old woman smiled, "Well, Eri, I'd like to run some tests on you, is that okay?"

Her grip on Izuku tightened and she looked at her guardian, slightly fearful. He just smiled at her, "It's okay. Recovery Girl is one of the best heroes around! She fixed me up after I got hurt and I'm just fine!"

"Ooh, speaking of which." The Youthful Heroine quickly gave the actually-youthful Izuku a grandma kiss, enveloping his torso and right arm in green light.

Eri gasped and temporarily let go, retreating behind All Might, much to the taller man's amusement. _Hmm. Guess she likes me more than Aizawa. Ha!_

Izuku sighed as he felt the last hairline fractures set themselves and all the discomfort vanish, "Thank you! That's a lot better."

Recovery Girl waved it away, "The best way you can thank me is by learning to control that Quirk of yours."

Eri looked at Izuku fearfully, "Are you...okay?"

He smiled at her and held out his slightly-less crooked hand, "Yeah! Recovery Girl's Quirk heals people. I'm all better now. She just wants to help you, too."

The child nodded and quickly reattached herself to Izuku. He led her behind Recovery Girl, who in turn led him and All Might to another examination room.

"Now, just sit up here and I can examine you. Does that sound okay?" Recovery Girl smiled brightly when the young girl nodded and commenced the physical.

In the meantime, Izuku and All Might spoke. "I think you were right to be wary of leaving her, Young Midoriya. She's clearly very attached to you."

"What should we do? Did your contact find anything."

All Might shook his head, "No missing child report matching that description. For that matter, he says he didn't find any child period that matched her description."

Izuku's blood ran cold, "W-wait, are you saying that she...doesn't exist?"

The older hero nodded solemnly, "Legally, at least so far as we know, this is the first we've heard of her. Recovery Girl's blood test might reveal something, but we'll have to wait for that. Have you found anything else about her? Something noteworthy?"

Izuku tapped his chin, "She has some scars all across her arms. They look kinda like incisions."

 _Jesus._ All Might felt slightly sick at that information. In all his years as a Pro, violence against children never failed to make him queasy. Or piss him off.

"And she seemed worried that her Quirk is dangerous. Like, she said it hurts people."

"Hmm. In terms of abduction, it's not uncommon for children to be kidnapped because they manifest powerful Quirks, but that's usually after its been documented by a researcher or doctor. In her case, we have nothing to go on."

"What should we do if she doesn't have any known relatives?" Izuku was slightly nervous at the prospect of leaving the girl alone.

"Normally, the police would take custody of her until they could find her closest relative." All Might rubbed his head and sighed.

Recovery Girl interrupted, "That might be a problem." She tucked in Eri, who'd fallen asleep thanks to a relaxant.

The One For All users perked up, "Hmm?"

"I finished analyzing her blood sample." _She was almost disturbingly calm when I did it._ "Her sex chromosomes don't match any known karyotypes on record. Her parents don't exist either."

All Might's face was ghastly, "T-that's impossible. Three people don't just not exist."

The doctor shook her head, "I have the sneaking suspicion this child has a 'less-than-legal' background. It's probably better to consider her a foster child rather than a missing one. I doubt any good would come from trying to match this girl with her relatives."

The Pro nodded, "Okay. I'll call Tsukauchi. He can take Eri to a foster home in the meantime.

Recovery Girl sighed, "Or, you just leave her with Midoriya."

"Eh?" Izuku exclaimed.

"Eh?" All Might exclaimed mightily.

The old woman explained, "The entire time I was conducting her physical, she was looking at Midoriya. She likely has a spectrum of social disorders so the fact that she's attached herself to him after just one day is basically a miracle. Trying to separate them might get in the way of her best chance at recovery."

"Hmm," All Might rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I'm sure Tsukauchi could find the appropriate paperwork to get your mother as a registered foster parent, but would she be okay with it?"

Izuku nodded, "Oh, yea. She'd love having her around."

"Still, it'd be best to ask. From there, you'd need to be notarized. Do you know any attorneys closely? Family friends? It'd be faster than waiting for a judge at a courthouse."

Izuku chuckled, "My mom's best friend's actually a lawyer."

All Might grinned brightly, "That's fantastic! Who?"

Then Izuku remembered an important detail about this specific family friend, "Oh no."

* * *

 **That Evening**

"Izu! You're so big now!" Mitsuki Bakugou hugged the boy as she entered the Midoriya household. "And Inko! You're still big in a completely different way!"

Inko chuckled sheepishly as she accepted the hug from her childhood friend, "T-thanks Mitsuki. We appreciate you coming out to help."

The taller woman waved it away, "Please, what're friends for? Speaking of whom..." She poked her head out the front door, "OI, KATSUKI! GET YOUR ASS INSIDE NOW! DON'T BE RUDE!"

From outside, "SHUT UP, YOU OLD HAG!" Despite the harsh language, Bakugou still obediently entered the house and nodded to the shorter woman, "Hey, Aunt Inko."

He was immediately punched on the head by his mother, "WHAT WAS THAT? BOW TO YOUR ELDERS, YOU DISRESPECTFUL PRICK!"

"DON'T FUCKING HIT ME!" He bowed slightly nonetheless before looking at his classmate and narrowing his eyes.

"H-hey, Kacchan." Izuku waved nervously, "W-what're you doing here?"

Mitsuki ruffled her son's hair, "Oh he was so worried about you, I just had to bring him along." She laughed merrily while her son fumed, words incapable of expressing his profound rage, "Anyways, where's the new kid? I wanna meet the little lady that's gotten so attached to our Izuku."

The Midoriyas led the Bakugous into the kitchen, where a rather nervous Eri was using an apple wedge to cover her mouth, as if that protected her from the visitors' gaze. She quickly ran to her guardian, clutching his right hand and hiding behind his leg.

"Oh, she's adorable! Hi, sweetie! I'm your Auntie Mitsuki!" The older blonde waved with a bright smile, earning a polite bow back.

Inko laughed at her ward's behavior, "Sorry, Mitsuki. She's just a little shy."

Waving it off, Mitsuki replied, "Ah, it's nothing. It's good of you to take her on, though. Though I suppose with a kid like Izuku, it's not much effort at all." The blonde's face suddenly contorted, and she pinched her son's cheeks, "WHY DID I GET STUCK WITH SUCH A BRAT, HUH? WHY CAN'T YOU BE A GOOD BOY AND ADOPT KIDS OFF THE STREET?!"

Katsuki roared, "SHOVE OFF YOU FU-" He suddenly stopped and glared at Eri, "Tsk, whatever." He pushed his mom's hands away and stormed to the couch, grumbling.

"Hmm. That's useful information." Mitsuki muttered before pulling out a large swath of papers from her bag, "Any who, Inko and I have a lot of stuff to do why don't you three go play or something?"

Inko sweatdropped at the sizeable stack of papers, "You sure I can't go play, too?"

"Nonsense! With my help, this'll only take the entire night! "

"...but it's Saturday..."

While Mitsuki tried to get her friend excited about adoption papers and her friend nearly cried at the loss of her evening, Izuku sat on the left end of the couch across from Bakugou while Eri elected to sit close to, almost leaning against, the former.

Katsuki tsked, "Why does this kinda stuff always gotta happen to you?"

Taken aback, Izuku stammered, "H-huh? What do you mean?"

"All this weird shi...stuff always happens to your useless as...self." Internally, Bakugou was screaming at his inability to speak his mind in the presence of a child.

Izuku shrugged with a nervous chuckle, "I don't really know. Just my luck I guess."

The other teen just shook his head before looking at the small child, "Why's she holding your hand?"

Eri gasped and hid her face in Izuku's side, much to his amusement, "She says that we match. Cuz the bandages."

"Tsk. Your hand looks like shi...cra...something bad." _I hate this kid._

Izuku just laughed sheepishly, "You should've seen Aizawa-sensei, though. He looked like a mummy."

"When did you see Aizawa?" Bakugou's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

 _Crap!_ "Oh...u-uh...when I took Eri to get a physical, he was at the hospital, too." _Technically not a lie._

"Heroes stay in the Hero Ward, dipsh...idiot."

 _Shit!_ "O-oh, w-well...I got special permission from Recovery Girl. Yeah!" _Why did I say 'yeah' at the end?! That's so much less convincing!_

Eri perked up at the mention of the old heroine, "Recovery Girl?"

 _Eri, yes!_ "Yea, Eri. Remember her?"

The child nodded, "She and Mr. All Might were really nice."

Bakugou nearly did a spit take, "You saw All Might?!"

 _Eri, no!_ "N-no! O-of course not!"

Eri cocked her head, "But that's what you called the skinny man. With the yellow hair. You called him Al-"

Izuku clamped a hand over the child's mouth, "Wow! Kids, huh? Such active imaginations!" Sweat ran down the greenette's face in greater volume than even his tears.

He whispered into Eri's ear, "If you don't say anything else, I'll get you a thousand apples." The girl nodded, drool running from her mouth in even greater volume than Izuku's sweat.

Bakugou stared suspiciously at the other two, but just shook his head and stared forward, "It's been a day and you've already made her weird. Good going, Deku."

"Deku? What's a Deku?"

"It's what he is."

"I thought he was Izuku."

"He's still a Deku."

"What's a Deku?"

"YOU ALREADY ASKED ME THAT!"

Izuku would've found the exchange humorous and a tad priceless if he wasn't so worried about Eri adopting the insult, "It's just a nickname, Eri. It's a different way to read my name's kanji."

The girl pondered for a second before perking up, "Oh I get it! 'Can't do anything,' right?"

Katsuki howled with laughter while Izuku went white, "E-Eri...not you too."

She tapped her chin, "Or is it from 'Dekiru?' Because that means 'Can do anything' instead."

Izuku started sobbing with relief while nodding furiously. Katsuki just growled, a certain round-faced girl coming to mind, "Not you too.

"Still, Eri, how do you know kanji so well?" Izuku asked after drying his tears.

She suddenly fell quiet, whispering, "It was one of the books in my room."

"Room? What room?" Bakugou asked, oblivious to the situation at hand.

Izuku shook his head at his childhood friend, gesturing to the downcast expression that befell the child, "It's okay. We don't need to talk about it. Wanna do anything else?"

The child just shrugged before muttering, "Apples?"

Izuku smiled, "Hey, sure. Want some food?" She nodded, much to his delight.

A slight weight in his chest, Katsuki looked away before trudging into the kitchen, seizing the biggest and sharpest knife he could find, and slicing up several apples with ease.

"Wah, Kacchan? How'd you slice them up so fast? And so cleanly?" Izuku marveled at the evenness of each apple slice.

"Knives aren't hard, moron." Katsuki grumbled as he handed the girl the pile of apple wedges, "Eat."

So they passed the time snacking on the fruit, the child's face as close to smiling as Izuku had ever seen. _Actually...I've never seen her smile before._

At that moment, Mitsuki, and a comically burnt-out Inko, finally got up from the table, a stack of completed forms in hand, "Congrats Mama-doriya, you're a proud parent of two."

"Yay." Inko murmured, a smile doing its best to stretch across her exhausted face.

Izuku looked at Eri with a grin, "Hey, that's great! You can stay here now!"

Eri looked at Izuku then to Mitsuki then back to Izuku, "I don't have to go back? What do you mean?"

The older Bakugou just laughed, "It means that, legally speaking, Izuku's your brother. And this ball of love is your mom. And that really makes me your Auntie!"

"W-what?" Eri's eyes were shimmering with tears threatening to spill at any moment, "That means that I'm..."

Izuku's eyes started tearing up too, "...my sister."

Inko started tearing up as well, "...my daughter."

Within second, the three of them were sobbing hard enough to cause a tsunami. Mitsuki just laughed, "Look at that! She already cries like a Midoriya!"

Katsuki just rolled his eyes, "Psh, only plus side is now I get to hear someone call that moron 'Deku-nii'."

Then he saw the little girl actually smile and his chest lightened. _Fuck.  
_

* * *

 **BOOM! THAT'S CALLED PURE FLUFF, BITCHES!**

 **I know this is a slow way to kick off the new arc, but I felt like some low action stuff was appropriate given the last chapter and what's to come.**

 **Besides, who doesn't love some Eri cuteness?**

 **Liars, that's who.**


	8. A Short Break

**Man, this story is doing insane numbers. Like 50,000 words in two weeks? I need to get back to work.**

 **And it's crazy to see the stats on "Heaven's Eye" at like 400 followers and 200 reviews. So thank you all for the support! It really means a ton. Though a few of you seemed to take kindly to me calling myself a baboon...**

 **...**

 **Lovely**

 **I also want (need) a dedicated beta so if you can offer your services, LMK please and thank you.**

 **I'll be answering some questions/comments/concerns from your guys' reviews from now on so if you have a certain query, this is how I'll probably answer you now.**

* * *

 **Q/A:**

 **\- Izuku's progress with OFA is gonna be faster, yes, but I'm not gonna spoil what happens when. Gotta leave something to the imagination. (But you guys are smart and I'm not subtle so y'all probably have an idea of what's gonna happen when)**

 **\- Izuku's not gonna be able to use chakra, but I will (and have) find ways to integrate other Naruto elements into the story in a way that's organic-ish. But this is still an MHA/BnHA fic, not a crossover, so don't expect much more than plot parallels.**

 **\- I'm not gonna do a fic where Izuku has Kurama.** **A** **: I don't think I'll have it in me to do another start-to-finish fic where Izuku has a 'Naruto' themed power.** **B** **: There's already one like this on Fanfiction. Read it; it's really good!**

 **\- The Mangekyō Sharingan is awesome, but PLEASE be patient. I believe that progression is only satisfying if its earned and comes at the right time. Or maybe you insist I'm dead wrong and you want to see a Complete Body Susano'o in the Sports Festival, in which case I humbly request that you suck it.**

 **Anyways, please enjoy!**

* * *

 _Chapter 8: A Short Break_

* * *

Having a four-day weekend right after their very first week of school felt weird, but nobody could really complain, especially given the circumstances surrounding the break. After fighting off a horde of villains, practically every student in Class 1A was clamoring for time off to rest their bodies and psyches.

So it was just Izuku's luck that he was currently stuck listening to the only two people - in the whole world, for that matter - that would be upset at school's cancellation.

"To think that classes would already be cancelled so early in the year. The life of a hero is truly fraught with disappointment." Iida groaned from the other end of the line.

"Mmhmm." Yaoyorozu's nods were practically audible over the phone, "To think I was so excited for tomorrow's practical training, too. Though, I suppose UA wants to do its best to up security after USJ."

"Speaking of which, Midoriya, how are your ribs and arm?"

Izuku hastily picked up the phone, having long since put it on speaker when the other two began their tirade, "O-oh, I'm good. Recovery Girl managed to fix me up yesterday at the hospital so I'm all healed up."

"Oh, did she manage to straighten out your hand? It looked pretty bad."

"U-uh..." He laughed sheepishly, "Nah, that's permanent. I sorta overdid it with my Quirk. It doesn't get in the way or anything!" He quickly reassured them, hearing the other two on the group call inhale deeply, "It just feels and looks a little funny. No biggy." _Not to mention_ _she_ _likes it._

The she in question was his newly adopted sister, Eri, currently holding said hand while she munched on a Granny Smith apple.

"I see. But if you went to the hospital, did you get to see Thirteen or Aizawa-sensei?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"Yeah, I saw Aizawa-sensei. He was pretty bandaged up, but he was conscious and everything."

The distinct grunt Iida made when he nodded sounded through the speaker, "Excellent news! But speaking of Aizawa-sensei, the reason I called the both of you is that as Class Representative and Deputy Representatives, we must elect our cabinet! Where and when shall we meet?"

Izuku paled. _Crap! I promised Eri I'd take her shopping today!_ "C-could we do it tomorrow? We have two more days off anyways."

Iida gasped, "Midoriya! You yourself told Aizawa-sensei that we'd have this assignment completed by the weekend's end. We should not abuse his trust like that!"

"I-it's not that...I...I p-promised..." _Why can't you be a little less earnest?!_

"Midoriya, is there some sort of reason you can't do it today?"

"W-well...I...I s-sorta..." _How do I explain that I spontaneously gained a sibling?!_

Yaoyorozu sighed on the other end, "You really ought to work on your stuttering."

 _I can't help it!_ "I k-kinda promised to take my...s-sister shopping today. She kinda...doesn't have any clothes."

Iida gasped again, "Midoriya, I had no idea of your familial responsibilities and problems. I apologize for judging you or your financial status!"

 _I get the feeling he just bowed through the floor...And we're not poor!_ "I-it's not that...She's umm...new..."

"New? Like she's a newborn? I didn't even know you had a sister. Is that why?"

"...You know, it'd be a lot easier to say this in person. I can probably just go shopping afterwards. Is it okay if I bring her then?"

"Of course. Oh, we should do it at my house! I can ask Mother to bring out our 'Golden Tips' tea! Oh, the both of you would love it! And then I can get the cookies from..."

 _When did she get so...bubbly?_

* * *

"Izuku-nii, where are we going?" Eri asked as the older boy led her down the road.

"I told you. My friend's house to do some work for school. And then after, I'm taking you shopping, just like I said." Although Izuku would definitely miss the sight of the small child in his All Might shirts, it was probably for the best that she get something else to wear.

"I meant that...they're all so big..." True to her words, every single house on the street looked like a castle more so than it did a home. At least the ones behind the duo; there was a lot of forest by the road now.

"W-well...I think my friend's family is well off." _Makes sense considering she got in through recommendations._ Then he found the house number he was looking for. _Oh nothing about anything makes sense anymore._

As it turned out, the forest was just part of the property.

Yaoyorozu's property.

Because she's rich.

"Holy..." _Present company..._ "...shit." _Dammit!_

Luckily, the small child was too intrigued by the massive gate that seemed to lead to some far-off land rather than a high school student's living quarters to pay attention to her brother's foul mouth.

"...it's big." She simply stated.

Laughing, Izuku pressed the 'call' button by the gate, jumping back at the immediate response, "Ah! I've been waiting for you. Iida's just arrived so please, come in!" The gate swung open as Yaoyorozu's 'bouncy' voice rang throughout the air, making the world slightly brighter.

Too bad the walk to the house was hell on earth. _This is...excessive._ Izuku groaned as he trudged through the path, the child accompanying him practically dragging on the ground.

After arriving at the palatial home and being ushered in by a solemn butler - whose judgement of his 'T-shirt' shirt and Eri's dress was all too apparent - to the 'Great Hall,' Izuku finally came face to face with his classmates. _Is this what Odysseus felt?_ _Relief?_

Yaoyorozu immediately bounced up, an uncharacteristically joyous smile on her face, "Midoriya! Welcome to my home! Please, have some tea and cookies!" Then her eyes traveled down to the child hiding behind his leg, "Oh...oh my."

Within seconds, the female teen, probably the smartest and most mature student in the class, one of four UA freshmen to get into the Hero Course through recommendation, was bouncing up and down in front of a small child.

"Oh my gosh, you're so cute! My name's Momo Yaoyorozu, but you can call me absolutely anything. Did I mention you're so cute?!"

Eri shyly smiled, the newest - and best - addition to her facial expression repertoire, "Thank you, Miss Yaoyorozu."

Iida then cleared his throat, "Hello, young child. My name is Tenya Iida, hero-in-training and Representative for Class 1A at UA. Pleased to make your acquaintance." He bowed deeply and powerfully - if that wasn't a thing, he made it one.

The child seemed a little more weirded out at this greeting, but she bowed in response, "H-hello. I'm Eri..." She looked up at Izuku as if asking permission, to which she received a reassuring nod and a smile, "...Midoriya."

Iida smiled at the cute cinnamon roll, but rubbed his chin after noticing something, "Midoriya, you say she's your sister, but I see very little resemblance. Although her eye color is the same as yours when you use your Quirk, everything else is quite different."

"O-oh...you see...Eri's...adopted...kinda." Izuku rubbed his head at the terrible explanation.

This broke Yaoyorozu out of her cuteness coma, "What do you mean?"

So he explained everything he could, only leaving out the details about Eri's possible abuse, mostly the scars on her arms, and Aizawa discovering that Izuku knew about All Might's true form.

Iida broke the silence that followed the rather heavy story, "To think I ever judged you for prioritizing your beloved younger sister...FORGIVE ME!" He bowed right into the table, creating a painful-sounding THUNK that didn't seem to bother him at all in his guilt.

Izuku waved his arms frantically, "N-no, it's fine! Really!"

Yaoyorozu sniffled, wiping at her eyes, "Such a tragic background. You're so good to take her in, Midoriya. It appears I misjudged you again." She bowed too, although less violently - thankfully - than Iida.

 _Why do I get the feeling these two don't think too highly of me a lot of the time?_

"But after hearing this, there's absolutely no way I can let you leave here without a full wardrobe and supplies. I'll get my butler!" Yaoyorozu ran off before Izuku could even respond.

Eri smiled at her brother's friends' antics, "They seem to like you."

Izuku blushed slightly while Iida nodded resolutely, "Your brother, dear sweet Eri, is one of the finest students in our class!"

"I-Iida...I'm not good with attention..."

"Gah! I apologize for exacerbating your social awkwardness! Please accept my apologies!"

 _Does he hear the words coming out of his mouth?_

Luckily, Izuku's salvation came in the form of a still-bouncy Yaoyorozu, "Okay, I arranged for all the necessary items to be delivered to your home, Midoriya! They'll be there shortly."

"How did you do that so fast?...W-wait, how did you get my address?"

* * *

 **Two Days Later**

Getting ready for school was never fun.

For one, Izuku had to get up early enough as is to get in a morning run. Then, he had to rush to shower and prepare his backpack. Then he had to spend a good half hour struggling to tie his tie, that most nefarious of accessories. And then he had barely enough time to devour a small feast for breakfast before heading out the door to catch his long-ass train ride to UA.

But today was slightly harder than normal, mostly because he and his mother hadn't quite figured out what to do with Eri.

"My office has a daycare center. Eri, would you like to play there?" Inko asked, smiling at her new daughter.

Eri nodded, "Okay."

"Great! Just let go of Izuku and we can head out in a bit."

"Okay."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Mom, she's not letting go."

Inko sighed, exasperated at this development. While she found it absolutely adorable that Eri was so clingy to Izuku - even more so now that she had some adorably regal dresses courtesy of the rich girl she was now determined to make her daughter-in-law - it could not have come at worse time.

"Eri, you know Izuku has to go to school, right? He isn't coming with me."

The young girl looked at her adopted mother quizzically, but nodded, "Okay." She turned to Izuku, "So am I going to school?"

The older Midoriyas groaned at this. "Maybe you should just saw off my hand and give it to her. That might work." Izuku deadpanned. _I wonder if that's what happened to Shigaraki..._

Then his phone rang, "Hello?"

" **Young Midoriya!** "

"A-All Might?" Izuku stammered, surprised at the sudden phone call so early in the morning.

Inko paled, "W-w-what? ALL MIGHT?!"

Waving his mom away, Izuku listened, " **Apologies for disturbing you, but are you still at home?** "

"U-uh, yeah. Why? Do you need something?"

" **HA HA! Indeed I do! If you could bring Young Eri to UA with you, that would be splendid! Recovery Girl would like to do an in-depth analysis of her Quirk factor, if possible.** "

 _A solution!_ "Uh, y-yeah, that'd be great! Thank you!"

" **...not entirely sure why you're thanking me for this but you're welcome!** "

Izuku put his phone in his pocket and grinned at Eri, "Looks like you can come to school with me!"

Her face brightened, and she tightened her grip on Izuku's hand, "Yay! Bye Miss Inko!"

"Bye Mom! I'll buy Eri lunch from the cafeteria."

The door shut as the two kids left, although the Midoriya matriarch didn't seem to register it, "A-All Might...calling my son..."

* * *

 **An Hour Later**

Class 1A was a lively room that Wednesday morning, owing mostly to how reinvigorated everyone felt after the extended break.

"Man, I can't believe how many reporters are outside right now!" Kaminari said, leaning back in his chair.

Kirishima nodded, "I know! I thought there were a lot the other day, but this is crazy!"

True to their words, the UA perimeter was positively swarming with journalists, desperately clawing the walls while clamoring for even the smallest hint of gossip. Luckily, the gate was kept clear by Hound Dog's intimidation

That, and the small pool of slobber gathering beneath his maw.

"Ribbit. It makes sense, though. UA hasn't been invaded by villains in decades and never on this scale."

Kaminari's face lit up, "Yo, does that mean we're like, famous? Cuz that's awe-GAH!"

Jiro pulled her earjack back from Kaminari's eye and chastised, "I don't know why you're so happy. Aizawa and Thirteen nearly died."

Shoji added, "Also, Midoriya was in bad shape."

"Psh. That nerd passed out like a bitch. He needs to toughen up." Bakugou growled.

"He's the only one who actually hurt the Nomu. Your attack didn't even phase it. Ribbit."

"IT DID SOMETHING, YOU FUCKING AMPHIBIAN!"

Uraraka looked at her lap and frowned slightly, "I had to get escorted home before he woke up. I wonder if he's alright?"

The sound of the classroom door opening snapped everyone to attention, "And this is my classroom."

"The door's big..." A soft voice observed.

"Deku!" Uraraka happily chimed, "You're okay!"

"Ribbit. Glad to see you awake, Midoriya."

"...why'd you bring the kid?" Bakugou narrowed his eyes.

A wave of confusion passed over the classroom at the sight of Midoriya walking in hand-in-hand with a strange-looking child.

Izuku chuckled nervously, "O-oh, this is Eri." The girl waved shyly from behind Izuku's leg.

Uraraka's face went white, "She's..."

Mina's face went white, "...so..."

Hagakure's face probably went white, "...CUTE!"

The three girls swarmed the child, giggling uncontrollably at her overwhelming cuteness. Even the reserved Jiro was blushing slightly, overcome with a deep and instinctive need to pinch those cheeks.

"Look at her wittle shoes." Asui grinned.

Ashido was practically hyperventilating, "Horn! She has a horn!" She picked Eri up and held her out towards the class, "Kiri! WE HAVE A NEW HORN BUDDY!"

"Hell yeah!" Kirishima exclaimed, only to get a book thrown at his head, "Ow! What was that for?" He glared at Bakugou, who just glowered.

Izuku sheepishly chuckled, "Oh, sorry about that Kirishima. Kacchan doesn't like swearing in front of Eri." _Although apparently violence is fine._

This startled the class even more than the arrival of the child. Even the stoic Todoroki raised an eyebrow at that revelation.

Mina got very close to Izuku, her eyes wide as could be, "Bakugou...won't swear...in front of her?" She held up the perplexed Eri for emphasis.

Izuku nodded, "Yeah, it was kinda surprising."

"Heh...heh...HAHA!" The class erupted into raucous laughter, most prominently from Kaminari, Kirishima, and Mina, although Jiro had to clamp her hand over her mouth to control herself.

"I will subtly and very violently end all of your lives."

The sheer malice behind those words silenced everyone rather quickly, although Mina, fearless as she was, still chuckled.

"Wait, does that mean Bakugou already met Eri? For that matter, what is she to you, Midoriya? Ribbit."

"I just got dragged to his house when my mom helped them sign the adoption papers. It's nothing."

"What?!" The class erupted into shouts again.

"S-so she's like your sister?" Toru asked, drooling at the thought of two class cinnamon rolls.

Uraraka got too close to Izuku's face - what else is new? - and pleaded, "Deku, you need to bring her every day."

Izuku chuckled, "Sure thing." He tried to turn away to his desk, but a surprisingly strong grip held him back.

"Deku," Uraraka's bubbly aura shifted drastically, becoming almost scary, "I mean what I say. Every. Day."

He gulped and nodded nervously, "Y-yes, ma'am."

"Great! Thanks, Deku!"

 _Man she'd give Yaoyorozu a run for her money when it comes to mood swings._

Izuku took his seat, smiling at the sight of his sister get snuggled by all the girls - and Kirishima - before landing in Bakugou's lap of all people.

She looked up at him and blinked a few times before looking forward at the bare blackboard.

 _She just relaxed like that?!_ Everyone thought simultaneously, even as most of them snapped pictures of the blushing Bakugou and his contorted face.

Chuckling, Izuku reached forward, "Here, I'll take her, Kacchan."

"My turn!" Yaoyorozu swooped in, grabbed the child before anyone knew what was happening, and went back to her desk.

 _When did she even get here?!_

"Hi, Eri! Remember me?" She smiled at the young girl in her lap.

Eri blinked a few times before nodding with a shy smile, "Yes, you gave me these clothes, right? Thank you, Miss Yaomomo."

The older girl was silent for a moment, before a massive grin crossed her face and joyful tears welled up, "Please don't ever call me anything else ever again!" Yaoyorozu hugged the girl tightly, somewhere between laughing and furiously sobbing.

The main door slid open, interrupting the Deputy Rep's merriment, "Everyone! Please take your seats!" Iida slid in and proclaimed, holding his hands out like he was giving an important speech.

"Iida, you're the only one not in your seat." Tokoyami deadpanned.

The Class Rep grumbled and sat down, "How humiliating! Truly, I must strive to be a cooler hero and person."

Uraraka patted his back encouragingly, "Don't mind!"

"Oh, it's Mister Iida."

He turned, and his face lit up, the embarrassment from before completely gone, "Miss Eri! It's wonderful to see you in good health!"

Iida went to shake her hand, only for Todoroki to dryly comment, "You're out of your seat again."

While Iida festered, Mina protested, "Man, Midoriya! It's so unfair! Yaomomo and Iida got to see this bundle of sunshine and happiness, too? What about us?!"

"What about class?" The entire room fell deathly silent as a mummy walked in, "Seriously, you guys always take so long to shut up."

"A-Aizawa-sensei?!" Izuku stammered, recognizing the man from his hospital visit on Saturday.

"Hmm. What? Expecting someone else?"

"You're covered in bandages!" The class collectively exclaimed, earning only a shrug in response.

The Pro Hero turned homeroom teacher sighed, "If you're going to let a few broken bones get in the way of your job, you'll never be a good hero."

Iida nodded, "Truly inspiring, sir."

"That and my insurance company wanted to raise my premium."

Iida nodded, "Financial advice as first years. Truly, UA is a premier academic facility."

Aizawa sweatdropped. _Is he a kiss-ass or just that earnest?_ "Anyways, no time to reflect on what happened Friday. We lost Monday and Tuesday. That means there's a lot of catching up to do."

Kaminari, the lovable dumbass he is, groaned, "Come on, sensei. Can't we ease into things?"

The teacher's eyes narrowed behind the white cloth, "You've all heard of the Sports Festival, right?" The class nodded, everyone familiar with the most significant sporting event in the country, "Good because, in case you forgot, in three weeks, you'll all be in it."

"...WHAT?!" Somehow, most of the class hadn't considered that by attending UA, they'd be in the UA Sports Festival. To call their reaction chaotic would do a disservice to the sheer calamity on display.

"Settle down." The calamity vanished, replaced by fear of the mummified Pro Hero, "This festival is gonna be your chance to get some agencies interested. It's the perfect way to show what you're made of against your peers. If you aren't gonna buck up and grab this opportunity by the shoulders, you should probably just leave now instead of face national ridicule."

A heavy blanket of silence befell the class, none of the students particularly sure how to respond to the responsibility Aizawa just threw onto them. Izuku, in particular, was sweating. _The Sports Festival...it's like the Japanese Olympics...Millions of people...watching us...watching_ _me_ _...I'M NOT READY!_

Luckily, a small tapping on his leg snapped Izuku out of his funk, "Deku-nii, what's the Sports Festival?"

... _Deku...nii?_

The heavy blanket was lifted to give way to uproarious laughter. Bakugou couldn't help but snicker at his derogatory nickname being used by the 'brat' while Uraraka was cry-laughing at the child's adorable pet name for her adopted brother. Hell, even Izuku was chuckling.

"I didn't know she was your sister, Midoriya. Your file didn't mention any siblings..." Aizawa's gaze narrowed so harshly, the light seemed to fade from the world.

Izuku was sweating bullets. _Oh god, he probably has so many questions! And he's already suspicious that All Might was in his skinny form in front of me!_

"Eh, whatever. Cute kid. Don't keep her waiting."

 _So laid back!_ "U-um, let's see...the Sports Festival is like a contest between all of the students at UA to see who's the best. At least, athletically."

Eri nodded, "So you're gonna be in it?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I just hope I don't embarrass myself." Izuku rubbed his head sheepishly.

Uraraka chimed in, "Eri, you're gonna cheer for your Deku-nii, right?"

The younger girl thought for a moment before nodding rather enthusiastically. Then she raised her arms towards Deku, silently asking to be picked up, which he did so - even though his heart was clenching like it never had before.

"Aww!" All the girls - and Kirishima - cooed.

Mineta fumed from behind and whispered, "Dang it, Midoriya! You need to let me borrow your sister some time! Chicks love kids!"

"U-uh...I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Come on! At least let me see her in ten years then."

The grapist felt a strong hand on his shoulder and a wave of murderous intent. Slowly turning around, he came face to face with a glowering Yaoyorozu, "Touch her and I'll turn you into a thermonuclear warhead."

Nodding solemnly, the short boy turned back around and quickly began writing the kanji for 'person' on his hand and swallowing it, which did nothing to ease his growing terror at having most of the class mentally paint a target on his back.

"...on that note...Class Rep, did you fill the rest of the positions?"

Iida stood up with the list of names, "Yes, sir. For the role of secretary, we nom-"

"I don't care who as long as it's done."

"Curses. Foiled again!"

* * *

 **Later That Day**

"Man, I'm so freaking pumped for the festival!" Kirishima exclaimed, balling his fists to contain his excitement.

Tokoyami nodded, "Although I'm not much for daytime, I admit I'm excited at the prospect of competing like this."

"Oui! I just hope I do not completely outshine all of you on the stage!" Everybody ignored that.

A growling sound filled the air, "Deku...Iida..."

The two in question turned to their brunette friend, the same violent aura from before now emanating even stronger, "U-Uraraka?"

"Let's do our best!" She pumped her fist, earning a half-hearted - mostly terrified - response.

Mina rubbed her chin, "Man, Uraraka's got mood swings for days."

"PM-" Tsuyu thankfully slapped Mineta before he could finish.

 _...I wonder if he'd take a Women's Studies class?_ Izuku scratched his chin as the bell for lunch resounded, "Say, Uraraka, why do you want to be a hero?"

"Hmm? Oh...it's kinda embarrassing." She laughed sheepishly while rubbing her head as she, Iida, and Izuku with Eri descended the stairs to the cafeteria.

Iida shhok his head, "Impossible! For one such as you, there can be no negative reason you could possibly say for why you wish to be a hero."

"I want money."

"...foiled...again..."

She chuckled, "It's jsut that my parents work so hard for me and they're still only barely scraping by. I feel like once I become a hero, I can finally take care of them and give them an easy life."

 _I...wasn't foiled..._ "BRAVO!" Iida clapped loudly and enthusiastically.

Izuku nodded with a smile, "That's definitely nothing to be embarrassed about. That's as great a reason for becoming a hero that I've ever heard!"

Tears threatened to form in the teen's eyes, "You guys..."

"Miss Uraraka, that sounds nice."

"Eri-chan!" Uraraka endearingly cried as she glomped the small child for her sweetness.

" **HAHAHA!** "

"What's that sound?" Iida asked, turning away from his friends to a nearby hall.

" **Young Midoriya is here!** " All Might appeared from the hallway and pointed right to Izuku.

"Huh? A-All Might?" Izuku asked, perplexed.

"All Might? I thought he was ski-" Eri pondered before Izuku clamped his hand over her mouth, nervously looking at Uraraka and Iida.

The large man held up a wrapped bento, " **Lunch! Wanna eat with me?** "

"He's like a maiden!" Uraraka guffawed as Izuku nodded, taking Eri's hand - still keeping her mouth shut with the other - as he joined his mentor.

The trio walked to the teacher's lounge, where they were surprisingly met by Recovery Girl. The elderly woman smiled warmly at the two kids, "Hello! Eri, do you remember me?"

The smallest one nodded, "Yes. Hello again, Miss Recovery Girl."

"I'm glad to see you again. I was actually hoping to speak with you in private. Do you think that would be okay?"

Eri hesitated but agreed after seeing Izuku nod reassuringly. She let go and followed Recovery Girl to the nearby nurse's office, leaving the two One For All users alone.

All Might instantly deflated onto a couch - literally and figuratively - and gestured for Izuku to sit across from him, "I brought katsudon. I remember you saying it was your favorite."

"O-oh, thanks!" Izuku nodded graciously as they both started eating, "Um..."

All Might raised an eyebrow, "What is it? Is it cold?"

Izuku frantically waved his hands, "Oh, n-no, it's awesome! It's just that...did you ask me to come here for any reason besides lunch or giving Eri to Recovery Girl?"

All Might looked surprised, but softly chuckled, "Heh. You got me." Setting his food down, the Pro Hero leaned forward, "As I'm sure Aizawa told you, the Sports Festival is coming up soon."

Izuku nodded, "Yeah. I'm not entirely sure what I should do to prep for it, if I'm being honest."

"That's alright. But the reason I asked Recovery Girl to take Eri alone is because I want to ask a favor."

"H-huh?"

All Might nodded, "My time is rnning out. Every day, I get slightly weaker and the time I can spend in my Hero Form decreases. At this point, I'm only good for around two hours."

"That's it?!" Izuku paled, the realization that his hero was getting weaker at an exponential rate, "S-sorry about that."

All Might lightly chopped his apprentice's head, "Stop apologizing for things that aren't your fault."

"S-sorry."

 _Goddammit._ "Look, how's your progress going with One For All?"

"Huh? Oh, well I can control it a little better, but it still takes a while to get it down. Although...it actually didn't take that long when I was fighting those villains at USJ."

"Hmm? What was different then?"

Izuku remembered Thirteen's words about the dangers of his Quirk and then Eri's own admission that her Quirk hurt others, "I think...I was just scared of doing a lot of damage to the villains, so it was...I don't know...easier to focus, I guess?"

All Might rubbed his chin, "Seems like against human opponents, your subconscious mind helps you pump the brakes. That's good considering you won't have much time to regulate One For All in a real fight.

"The thing is...those villains at USJ were all told something by their boss: that I'm getting weaker."

 _H-how did they know that?_

"Regardless of their source, if some small-time villains know, it's not unreasonable to assume that some of the public knows. That's why I need you, as my successor, to go to the Sports Festival and make your mark. Tell everyone that **you are here!** " All Might briefly transformed and held his hands out wide in a grand gesture.

Izuku didn't move or speak for a moment, but eventually nodded, "I won't let you down!"

Grinning, the Symbol of Peace deflated again, "That's what I like to hear. With that being said, do you have any ideas of where to start with your preparations?"

"W-well, I guess the best thing to do would be to increase how much of One For All I can draw out. I'm still on the lower end of the spectrum in the class so a power boost might help."

Nodding, All Might commented, "In three weeks' time, you might be able to get yourself up to 5% instead of 3%. That'd be a fairly significant boost considering where you are now. What about the Sharingan? You mentioned you discovered a new power the other day."

"Oh yea. I took some notes and based on observations, I think I can hypnotize people."

All Might raised an eyebrow, "Hypnosis?"

Izuku nodded, "Yea. That's the only explanation I have. I think it's based on eye contact and I need to have a lot of focus, but, based on my fight against Nomu, it's a good last resort if anything."

"Okay, so a new power. That also might help with Recovery Girl's analysis of your Quirk. But what about your other abilities?"

"Hmm. Well, I actually copied some of Yaoyorozu's bo staff moves and Aizawa-sensei's tricks with his scarf at USJ. So I got the idea to maybe use my copying skill learn martial arts or something."

All Might smiled, "Hey, that's not a bad idea. Maybe you should talk to Young Ojiro. For that matter, many of your classmates could give you some helpful advice. And with your Quirk analysis skills, you'd be able to help them out, too."

The door to the lounge opened again, revealing Recovery Girl and Eri, the latter of whom was happily licking a green lollipop - probably apple-flavored.

"Deku-nii!" She happily ran to her brother's side and gestured to be picked up, which the latter graciously did.

"...Deku-nii?" All Might muttered.

"Hey, Eri. Did you have fun?" She nodded with a content smile.

Recovery Girl chuckled at the sight, "She was a model patient! And she even joined me for lunch."

"Really? Did you find anything about her Quirk Factor?"

Nodding, the older heroine held up her clipboard, "From her blood test, I found out that her Quirk Factor is heavily mutagenic. It's actually not dissimilar to yours, Midoriya."

Izuku smiled and looked at the girl in his lap, "Hey, looks like we match again." This earned a bright smile.

"Although hers actually affects her forehead instead of her eyes, like it is for you."

"...her forehead?"

Recovery Girl nodded, "It seems her horn is the focal point of her Quirk. She also told me it glowed whenever she used her Quirk."

"Oh, okay. So what is he-" Izuku stopped once he felt Eri shake in his lap, almost trembling, "Eri?"

Recovery Girl looked at the silent Eri in his lap, "You should probably go back to class soon. Lunch is nearly over."

Realizing the time, Izuku gasped and ran out of the room, Eri in tow. "Thanks for lunch, All Might!" He barely managed to say before the door shut behind him.

Despite chuckling at his protégé's antics, All Might was perplexed, "What happened?"

Recovery Girl sighed and sat down, "She had a lot of trouble talking about her Quirk's function. All she could tell me was that it somehow hurt people. Truthfully, I spent most of our time together trying to determine her psychological scars more than her physical ones."

"...Psychological scars?" All Might asked, a heavy pit in his chest.

The elder gravely nodded, "I know we suspected abuse, but...those scars on her arms...they're similar to those you'd see on lab-grown tissues. The ones designed to be harvested."

"...you're saying someone was...harvesting Young Eri?" All Might's already ghastly face was even more solemn, "Was it for her Quirk?"

She shrugged, "I can't be sure, but based on how she trembles whenever someone tries to pry into what exactly her Quirk does, I won't rule out the possibility."

All Might deeply exhaled, "Jeez...I've heard of kidnapping kids with powerful Quirks this is new. And why would they do that? What purpose could it serve?"

"Who knows? And truth be told, I'd rather not find out. All that really matters is that we help the girl recover. That's probably gonna be left to Izuku more than anyone, but it's important we be there to support him. And her."

The male nodded before returning to his meal, although his appetite was long gone. Then he noticed the barely-touched bento across from him. _We were so caught up talking that..._

He transformed and dashed out the teacher's lounge, gingerly holding the lunchbox, " **Young Midoriya! You forgot to eat! You can't go day without having lunch!** "

Recovery Girl just smiled at the smoke trail the novice teacher left behind. _Hmm. Well, he's got the 'support Midoriya' part down. Just as long as he doesn't put too much pressure on the boy._

* * *

 **Yea I didn't know how to end this chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it! The next one will kinda be in a vignette structure, but it'll be a lot of fun if you like the supporting cast. It's also just one or two more chapters of filler before I get back to the main plot but I think fluff like this is a good break from the rehash of the first 6 chapters.**

 **That being said, I'm gonna be having A TON of fun with the Sports Festival, especially in regard to changing some stuff around/adding some stuff in. So look forward to that!**


	9. Training Montage

**Woo! Almost at double digits! Thanks for the support.**

 **Side note: I wonder if people who got notified of the last chapter had a mini panic attack when they saw the chapter title and thought I was quitting or something.**

 **Side side note: I saw a lot of shit about this on Reddit and God's Mistake (Tumblr) but what do you guys think about the current arc in the manga? I won't spoil it if you're anime only but I'm really interested in how you guys feel about the character development.**

 **Side side side note: My sister stopped writing her 'Naruto' fic FOUR years ago, but it still gets mad love. I don't know if I should be jealous or proud.**

* * *

 **Q/A:**

 **Hagoromo Senju** **: I'm gonna say probably not just because Shinso is more overtly mind-control versus the standard Genjutsu the Sharingan can overcome. I see Shinso's Quirk as close to Kotoamatsukami in that it's just on a different level than Genjutsu: Sharingan.**

 **Twilight-Lloyd** **: Why** **is** **All Might so adorable? The world will never know.**

 **Sir Rickey II** **: I'm not sure as to what the drawback would be yet. It should be severe (otherwise the Mangekyō would lose what balances it) but I'm not entirely sure if I want it to be permanent blindness. But we'll see.**

 **charger2040** **: Eri's not gonna unlock a fire Quirk for Izuku. Sorry :( But there might be something coming that you might enjoy ;) And oh yeah, there's gonna be some Inko + Eri cuteness. CINAMMON ROLL FAMILY FTW!**

 **origamishishou** **: ...I have no words for your review...it's just pure gold. But to answer your question, I'm not sure if I need to choose or not yet. For one, I'm trying to be slow-ish on the pairings. But I'm also aware that harems and throuples are very different. Both would be difficult for me to write (and I only put the throuple option forward as a joke) but I'll see where I'm at when I get to that point.**

* * *

 _Chapter 9: Training Montage_

* * *

"Huh? You want us to help you with strength exercises?" Shoji asked, perplexed at being approached so sudden by someone he hadn't really spoke to.

Izuku nodded, "Yea. You two are the strongest in the class by far and since my Quirk also boosts my strength, I figured you guys would have some really good advice for me."

Sato rubbed his chin, "Hmm. I mean, I'm naturally muscular so I'm not entirely sure how someone like you would go about bulking-"

 _Thanks..._

"-but I'd recommend supination bicep curls. Those really help me out."

Shoji nodded, "Also, make sure to really squeeze during your reps."

Izuku looked up from his furious scribbling, "Squeeze?"

The tentacled-teen elaborated, "If it helps, flex as hard as you can with the weight, then inhale sharply and try to push further. It's weird to say, but you'll know the feeling the second you feel it for the first time."

"Got it." Izuku finished those notes, "Anything else?"

"Maybe drink a protein shake after your workout. I usually go for the really sweet ones, but normal people probably should stick to low sugar if possible." Sato scratched his head for anything else, "Besides that, I guess just sleep as much as you can."

Izuku nearly busted a gut laughing. _All Might's plan had me get literally the minimum amount of sleep possible._

"I'd recommend creatine as a supplement. However, it may not do too much good in the time before the festival." Shoji added.

The greenette nodded, "Thanks guys! This is really helpful. I...uh...actually made some notes on your Quirks if you wanna hear them. I don't know, but maybe it'll help?"

They both nodded, curious as to the depths of Midoriya's Quirk analysis skills. He flipped to the right page in his notebook and explained, "So, for Sato, I was thinking about the effects that different types of sweeteners would have. Like brown sugar or honey or even artificial sweeteners.

"But I know that overusing your Quirk impairs your cognition, so maybe you could ingest a more complex sugar, like starch. My prediction is that you'd probably have less strength and it'd take longer to activate, but because it's harder to digest, its effects would last longer and be less severe than if you just chugged sugar."

"...got it." Sato rubbed his head, feeling his cognition fade after the onslaught of information.

"As for Shoji, I don't know enough about your Quirk to be very useful, but I was wondering if you ever thought about using intimidation as a weapon?"

The masked teen cocked his head, "What do you mean?"

"W-well, you have heroes like Gang Orca who look really scary and because of that, a lot of villains tend to get thrown off their game just because they're unsettled. So if you could use your tentacles in a 'body horror' type of way, you could give yourself a major advantage without much effort."

"Hmm." Shoji rubbed his chin with one of his Dupli-arms, "I've always known my appearance was fearsome, but weaponizing could produce interesting results, especially against some more animated villains. Thank you, Midoriya. This is very helpful."

Izuku waved his hands in front of him, "O-oh, it's nothing really. I should be thanking you for all your advice! Really, I just do this for fun!" _Phew. Two down, sixteen to go._

* * *

In his life, Izuku had done a lot of difficult things. Going to school back when he thought he was Quirkless, for example. Or the 'American Dream Plan' before the entrance exam. Or even facing down the Anti-Symbol of Peace at USJ.

However, training with Hagakure was definitely coming close to topping that list.

"Wrong! Honestly, Midoriya, are you even trying?"

Izuku groaned, relaxing his position as the invisible girl chastised him for the umpteenth time. In exchange for advice regarding her hero costume - Izuku suggested adding removeable mirrors to the glove to increase the intensity of the light she could reflect as well as its range - and the rights to hold Eri, Toru agreed to train Izuku in stealth.

He thought that her kind and bouncy personality would make this easy. As it turned out, her insane lack of patience made training even harder.

"I-I'm trying, really! I just need a bit more practice is all!" _I'm not even sure if stealth is gonna help in the Sports Festival! I know the events are randomized each year but..._

"Try harder, then! What's not to get? Just move quietly. Like this." Izuku waited for a moment, but nothing seemed to change. Then he heard a whisper in his ear, "See?"

He jumped back in surprise, "Gah!" _'See?'...she knows she's not wearing anything, right?_ "That's amazing! How'd you do that?!"

"...What do you think I've been trying to teach you?!" She screamed, "Remember, just use the outside of your foot to walk and shift your body weight with the leading foot."

He nodded, "Got it!"

Izuku barely took a step when she screeched at him again, "WRONG! You're shifting your weight against your leading foot. Do it with the lead! It makes it quieter."

He sighed, "Yes, ma'am." He tried again, this time taking care to carefully lean into each step. To his surprise, and his teacher's glee, it actually sounded slightly quieter on the gym's squeaky rubber flooring.

"Hey! That wasn't terrible!" Izuku didn't even need to see her to know that Hagakure was bouncing up and down like an excited schoolgirl - which she technically was. "Now do it again, but faster!"

So the cycle continued: Izuku would get yelled at until he got the maneuver right at which point Toru would compliment him and subsequently raise the difficulty.

Until it came time to figure out hand motions, "Come on, just swing your arms like this!"

"But...I can't see what you're doing?!"

"You don't need to see what I'm doing! Just stop doing what you're doing."

"...I'm really confused, Hagakure."

"Ugh, I thought your Quirk let you see people or something."

"...how did I not think of that?" Izuku activated the Sharingan and grinned, "Okay! Time to get this stealth thing down!" _I could even copy Hagakure's moves to speed this up! I seriously can't believe the thought never occurred to me!_

Unfortunately, the second Izuku actually looked at Toru, he instantly realized why the Sharingan was the absolute worst Quirk to use against the invisible and quite immodest girl.

"Ah, see what I did there? Now you do it, Midoriya...Midoriya?" She turned to her student, only to find him lying down, his hands firmly clamped over his nose while he muttered something incomprehensible. "Huh, guess he must've overexerted himself. Well, while he's down...ERI! TORU-NEE IS COMING FOR YOU!"

She skipped away to where the child in question was sitting, while Izuku murmured, "s-so...b-b-bouncy..."

* * *

"U-um...I don't know too much about this, Kirishima." Izuku nervously said as the redhead stood across from him on a rubber mat.

He just waved the comment away, "Nonsense! You wanna be a man, then you gotta learn to take hits like one!"

"I-I guess so, but-" _I'm starting to think asking Kirishima was a bad idea._

"Enough talking! Let's do this!" Kirishima brought his arm down in a hammer fist right onto Izuku's head.

"...ow." Izuku squeaked, but he didn't move, keeping his legs spread shoulder-width apart and his hands tucked firmly at his sides.

Kirishima flashed a toothy grin, "That's what I like to see! Be a rock!" He continued to attack Deku, earning pained grunts and the occasional squeal, only ceasing the onslaught when the latter finally collapsed.

"Ha ha! That was awesome, Midoriya! Really manly stuff!"

"...everything hurts..."

"Come on! You told me you wanted to make your mark at the festival, right? Think how badass you'll look just tanking everyone's attacks!"

"Y-yeah."

"I can't hear you!"

"Yeah!" Izuku shakily stood up and clenched his fists.

Kirishima chuckled, "That's the spirit. Now, lemme hear you roar!" He howled in demonstration.

"Ugh!" Midoriya's roar was...weak.

"Bro...that sucked. Come on: roar!"

"Gah!"

"I said, ROAR!"

"AHH!"

"THAT'S IT! AHH!"

"AHH!"

"AHH!"

"AHH!"

"AHHHHHHH!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Bakugou screeched from the other end of the UA gym.

The redhead and greenette fell deathly silent. Unfortunately for him, Kaminari did not, "Dude, you know Eri's here, right?" He pointed to the floating child - Uraraka's turn to play with her - that was staring at the ash-blonde with a curious look.

Bakugou went pale, "...I...uh..."

Kirishima laughed, "Dude, you broke Bakubro."

Eri turned to the brunette keeping her afloat, "Miss Uraraka, what does that word mean?"

"Oh, it's a...bad word. So you should never say it." _Nailed it!_ Uraraka mentally patted herself on the back.

"But...what does it mean?"

 _Eri, why?!_ Uraraka's face flushed red and started sweating profusely, "U-um...Deku, wanna take over?"

"U-uh...I can't! I'm...uh...Kirishima?" He looked pleadingly at his training partner.

The redhead thought quickly, "Umm...break's over! So...I need to hit you again."

"Right! Sorry, Uraraka but I trust you to do it!"

Uraraka's eyes narrowed, "I think Eri can wait for you to finish, right Eri?"

The young girl nodded, "I don't wanna interrupt Deku-nii's training. I'll just ask him when he's done." Uraraka smirked victoriously and looked at the now-sweating duo.

Kirishima's eyes widened, "Dude, they're in it for the long haul."

Deku paled, "I can either explain what that word means, or..."

"Get beaten into unconsciousness." Kirishima finished the sentence for him.

Izuku looked at his friend, "A man would face his problems head on, right?"

Ejiro nodded.

Izuku took a deep breath and steeled his gaze, "Then I only have one choice."

And that's why Izuku spent the rest of the day in a full-body cast.

* * *

Uraraka laughed, "I still can't believe you let Kirishima wail on you like that."

"I can't believe Eri asked my mom what it meant at dinner." Izuku nearly facepalmed, remembering the stroke his mom nearly had when the youngest Midoriya popped the question with a mouthful of pie.

The two of them were jogging along Dagobah beach to enjoy the cool sea breeze on the hot Saturday morning.

"What's that like? Just suddenly having a new family member like that?" Uraraka asked after a moment's silence.

"Oh...hmm." Izuku pondered the question, "I guess it's...nice. Like it's definitely weird since it's just been my mom and I for a long time, but having Eri around makes everything seem...I don't know...brighter?" He wasn't so sure as to how to describe the warmth he felt with his newfound sister besides that.

"Huh...that sounds really nice." Uraraka spoke unusually softly.

 _What was that?_ "Hey, are you okay?" Izuku asked concernedly.

"What? Oh yeah, I'm good!" She plastered the biggest smile she could on her face.

Unfortunately, it also looked like the fakest.

"You sure? Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry about that."

She suddenly slowed to a stop. Izuku did the same, worry etched onto his face. _Dammit! I did say something! Idiot!_

"I-I think I just..." Her voice broke, "...miss my family is'all."

"Oh...I'm sorry." Izuku scratched the back of his head, scouring his mind for anything to say of comfort.

"You don't need to apologize." She chuckled, "Sorry to put this on ya'. Guess I was just feelin' lonely or somethin'." She rubbed her eyes while keeping her focus on the ground. "Ya know...it's weird to live by yourself.

"Umm...I know I can't really relate to your situation, and I get that it's probably tough to move here by yourself, but...it's not like you're alone."

"Huh?" She looked at him, eyes tinged red.

He stammered and looked away, "W-well, I mean...you have me." His voice decided to crack on that last word.

For a moment, neither of them said anything. Then they were laughing like there was no tomorrow.

"Ha! Deku, you're really dorky, ya' know?" Uraraka clutched her stomach, the laughter so intense it hurt.

Izuku tried, and failed, to contain his snickering, "S-sorry!" He finally got in under control and finished his thought from earlier, "I mean, you have your friends here. So like Iida and Ashido and Asu...Tsuyu and Yaoyorozu and Kirishima and-"

"Ha, I got it! I got it."

Izuku added, "A-and if you're ever feeling lonely at your place, just come visit me! Eri would love it and my mom would probably fawn over you like crazy." _She might cry too._

"...Thanks, ya know. You're a really good friend." She smiled brightly at the boy.

"Oh it's nothing really. I just like it when you smile." His face flushed after pondering his words, "W-wait, I didn't mean it like that! I mean...I-I did, b-but...not like that, you know?"

Uraraka wasn't doing much better, blushing and stammering furiously. She even clamped her hands over her cheeks, causing her to start floating way and prompting a quick break to the 'fluster fest.'

"..."

"..."

"...Let's keep running."

"Yeah that sounds good."

"...I didn't know 'ya' had an accent."

"S-shut up!"

* * *

Izuku walked up to Bakugou as the lunch bell rang, Eri leaving hand-in-hand with Koda, lover all of things cute, "Hey, Kacchan. Wanna do some training later?"

"Fuck off."

"Got it. Good talk."

* * *

"Hey, Tokoyami! Do you wanna train with me later?" Izuku asked the next day at lunch.

The bird man rubbed his chi...jaw...beak? "Hmm...the proposition is interesting but I'm not sure if your sister would take kindly." He gestured to the girl currently hiding behind Izuku's leg, staring wide-eyed at the feathered student in a profound mixture of curiosity and fear.

"Huh? Eri, what's wrong?" _I know she was sheltered but I still thought she'd know about Quirk-based mutations._

She gasped and looked away, an embarrassed look on her face, "S-sorry."

Fumikage's normally stern expression relaxed, "It's fine. It happens more than you'd think."

"Still, she doesn't act like this around Shoji and he's way more intimidating."

"...I'll try to take that as a compliment."

"O-oh...s-sorry!" Looking back at Eri, Izuku placed a reassuring hand over her horn - which seemed to have shrunken slightly in the last few weeks - and softly asked, "You sure you're okay? You can tell me."

She whispered, "...They had masks..."

"They?" Izuku paled. _She means her kidnappers! They had bird masks?_

Tokoyami cocked his head, "Hmm...I take it to mean she means a mask that resembles my face? Perhaps a plague mask from the olden days in Europe."

 _'Olden days'? But hey, I remember those masks with the beaks!_ "Wow, Tokoyami. How'd you think about that?"

"I often find myself drawn to imagery from that time. So...macabre."

Izuku laughed nervously, "You really like that dark stuff, huh?"

" _You should see him when he reads Edgar Allen Poe! He smiles like it's the Black friggin' Plague!_ " Dark Shadow popped out energetically, much to his host's chagrin.

"Get inside!" Fumikage growled as he forced his sentient Quirk to recede into his body.

Unfortunately, the already on-edge Eri wasn't prepared for a jump scare and promptly ran out the classroom shrieking.

"Ah, Eri! I'll have to get her. Sorry, Tokoyami!" Izuku ran out the class, but not without one last thought. _Wait...he_ _smiles_ _at the Black Plague?!_

* * *

Iida breathed deeply, "Ah! I'm ever so glad you asked me to run with you, Midoriya! It truly makes me feel as if the bond between us is growing stronger and more robust."

Izuku wheezed in response, his stamina spent in the mad sprint he had to perform just to keep Iida from fading into the distance. He didn't even know how that was possible given they were at the UA jogging track, but apparently anything was possible when it came to the overly-sincere, overly-quick, Class Representative.

"Ha ha! I see you've already started to push yourself! I'd expect nothing less from someone of your caliber! You continue to inspire me!"

Izuku wheezed again, managing to wave a hand, either in modesty at the compliment or in agony at the searing pain in his lungs and legs and entire body.

"I see! This must be some new form of breathing to increase lung capacity!" Iida's glasses reflected light as he stood tall, "I knew you were seeking advice from our classmates, but to think you're already bettering yourself by implementing them into your everyday workout."

Izuku wheezed. _Every...day...doing_ _this_ _?! I'd rather give him One For All. Hell, if he does this every day, he probably deserves it._

"Such devotion to your respiratory training! You are clearly superior to me, but I will not give in so easily!"

"Y-you...really...have the wrong...opinion of me. I'm just...t-tired."

Iida laughed merrily, "Such modesty! One day soon, I'll show the world that I can stand amongst you and Bakugou and Todoroki."

"T-Todoroki?" _I haven't really spoken to him, but he got in through recommendations and got second in the fitness test. His hero costume is kinda strange though._

He nodded, "Of course! The three of you are probably the most powerful in the class at the moment. Although, you're admittedly more of a glass cannon, but you compensate for that with your intelligence."

"B-but...why Todoroki? I haven't really seen...much of him. How strong is he?" Izuku finally managed to stand up straight, the fire in his lungs shrinking.

"Oh, I forgot that you were being healed during his match. During the battle trial, Todoroki instantly froze the entire building and defeated Ojiro and Hagakure. It was quite the spectacle."

Izuku's face blanched, "I-instantly? Like...he did that in one move?"

Iida nodded, "It was truly inspiring...but also intimidating. But such feelings can only push me further! Come, Midoriya, the warm-up is over!"

"...warm-up?" Izuku squeaked.

* * *

Ojiro brought his tail down hard across Midoriya's face, knocking the greenette down, "Oh, was that too fast for you? Sorry."

Izuku spit whatever saliva/blood was knocked around from the attack and shook his head with a smile, "Nah, that was awesome! And I'm learning a lot from just watching you." _Even I can keep up with his movements, he's too fast for me to react._

"You said your Quirk lets you mimic movements, right? How does that work?" Ojiro took a drink of water to give Izuku some time to recover.

He rubbed his head, "It's...kinda weird to explain. It's sorta like I just remember some moves really clearly and then when I try to replicate the move, my body sorta...clicks into place."

Ojiro just shrugged, "I don't really get it but I guess it'd be like if I tried to tell you what having a tail felt like. Still, I could teach you some basic blocks and grabs if you want something to actually copy."

Izuku perked up, "R-really? That'd be awesome!"

"But I guess you'd have to watch so I need someone to perform the moves on."

"Midoriya, I need your magic eyes! I found a peephole to the girls' locker room and you might be able to see through it!"

Ojiro looked at Mineta then at Izuku, raising his eyebrow with a slight smile.

Izuku's eyes widened, "...I don't know..."

"Remember what he said to Eri the other day?"

"...Hey, Mineta! Can you help us with something?"

* * *

Mina clapped her hands together in rhythm, "And 1 and 2 and 1 and 2 and 1 and 2-stop! Midoriiii!" She sighed exasperatedly.

Izuku ceased the two-step and sighed, an apologetic smile on his face, "S-sorry, Ashido! It's...embarrassing..."

"What's embarrassing about dancing? Besides, you said you wanted to learn some flips and stuff! So you gotta learn the basics first!"

"B-but...I can just watch you do it once and then it's done! You really don't need to waste your time on me!"

Mina's eyes twinkled mischievously, "Oh, so you're going to watch me closely, huh? Gonna pay real close attention to how my body moves?" Her voice alternated between sly and sultry with alarming ease.

Izuku's face went bright red and he turned away from his temporary teacher, "W-well, t-that's not how I-I-I w-would p-put it...b-but..."

"And after you already paid such close attention to me during Aizawa-sensei's exam." Mina slowly walked towards Izuku, each step accompanied by a slight swing.

The shade of red on Izuku's cheeks deepened to a level long thought impossible, "W-wha?!"

"Oh, that's right: I noticed. And it made me very...interested." She dragged a finger down Izuku's cheek.

"WHAT?!" The greenette jumped back and completely seized up, his entire body screeching in a profound mixture of epinephrine, cortisol, and a variety of other hormones and neurotransmitters telling him to either run or run while screaming.

Her raucous laughs luckily stopped his mental breakdown, "Man, Midori, you're too much fun!"

"...wha...huh?" _She knows there's an extra syllable...I've told her like 50 times..._

"But where's the fun in just copying my moves? Nah, I want you to work for them. Besides, it's kinda fun!"

Izuku looked down, "Huh...You're right."

Ashido giggled, "Of course I am! Now come on and get this two-step!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

* * *

Out of all the students in Class 1-A, the one Izuku most wanted help from was Ojiro. Then Sato. Then Ashido. And so on and so forth.

Aoyama was at the bottom of that list...

...only because Mineta was intentionally excluded.

So it came as a surprise when he and Kaminari were suddenly dragged away during free training by the titular pseudo-Frenchman.

"Uh, what's going on?" Izuku asked, nervously scratching his head.

"Umm...not to be rude but...are you gonna kill us?" Kaminari eyed the secluded corner the trio was standing in, curiously out-of-sight from the rest of the class.

Aoyama laughed haughtily, " Je suis désolé but I wanted to bring us three together for a surprise!"

"...but why?" Kaminari readied his Quirk just in case he was right about Aoyama's intentions.

"Because we are all the same. We're like Les Trois Mousquetaires!"

"Um, A-Aoyama, I think that Kaminari and I are still a little lost."

Aoyama just chuckled, "Without my dazzling support belt, Navel Laser would constantly leak out and hurt my stomach. My doctors tell me that my body just isn't suited for my Quirk."

He looked at the other two with a knowing glint, "You two hurt yourselves with your own Quirks, too, right?"

Izuku and Kaminari were dumbfounded. _This is the same Aoyama who spent half of the class costume budget on a cape infused with diamond?!_

"Do you not like the surprise?"

"N-no, it's great. Just surprising, is all." Kaminari rubbed his hair, embarrassed at his earlier accusations.

"It's because I saw you training so much and becoming impatient." Aoyama turned to Izuku, his face uncharacteristically serious, "For us three, there's no reason to struggle alone. Otherwise, how could we ever shine?"

 _I thought he was scary but...he's actually trying to help!_ "Thank you, Aoyama. This is an awesome surprise." Izuku grinned at the sparkly-blonde appreciatively.

"Bien entendu, but the surprise isn't over. We're gonna commemorate the first meeting of Les Trois Cassétaires by sharing our feelings! Kaminari, what're you doing to help you sparkle?"

"U-um...Well first, I know my French is bad, but I'm pretty sure you made that word up."

"Debatable but continue."

"...Well...I guess I'm just trying to work on cycling a small amount of electricity through my body so I don't fry my brain or my nerves."

Izuku suddenly lit up, "Wait a minute...you're spreading your power out?"

Taken aback, Kaminari elaborated, "Well...yea. If I try to focus my electricity in just one body part, I could damage my nerve endings and you saw what happens if I just let loose at full power."

"...I see." Izuku's brain was in full on ramble mode, but that didn't deter Aoyama.

"Merci, Kaminari. I find it difficult to control Navel Laser's intensity so instead, I prefer to control the duration it's active."

"Huh? Does that work?" Izuku snapped out of his rambling.

He nodded, "Évidemment! If I only use it for a brief moment, it only hurts the slightest bit."

"...WOAH!" Izuku shot up and flashed a manic grin, "Thanks, you guys! I know what I need to do!"

Kaminari protested, "Huh? But we all shared? What abou-"

"Let him go." Aoyama stated, brilliant tears falling from his shimmering eyes, "He's going to sparkle."

Izuku nodded with a grin, "Seriously, you guys. Thanks!" He ran off, leaving the others behind.

"In that case, let's make friendship bracelets!"

"...eh, why not?"

* * *

"Hey, Yaoyorozu." Izuku called to his fellow Deputy Rep while she twirled her bo.

"Hmm? What is it, Midoriya?"

Izuku stared right at her with uncharacteristically excited eyes, "I have a really good idea for my Quirk, but I need some help with the logistics of it. Can you help me?"

She cocked her head, "Huh? Maybe you should ask Cementoss or Ectoplasm. I'm sure they'd be able to help you much better than I could."

Izuku shook his head, "Trust me, you're probably the only person who can help me!"

"Huh?!" Momo's face lit up appreciatively, but she managed to reign it in before she went 'full bounce', "Okay, how about you spar with me and we'll talk it about in the meantime?"

Izuku nodded with a confident smile, "Deal!"

* * *

 **Two Days Before The Festival**

Uraraka, Izuku, and Iida got into position and called up, "We're ready!"

From above the cliff at the USJ Landslide Zone, Thirteen nodded, "Got it! We'll start now." He turned to the rescuers and instructed, "Bakugou, Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami, and Todoroki: you four need to save those three with the provided materials in a timely manner. Your time starts now."

Thirteen joined the rest of the students and a heavily-bandaged Aizawa in observing the mock rescue.

Bakugou growled, "Let's just blow up the cliff!"

"Wha-? Are you crazy?!" Yaoyorozu chastised.

Tokoyami sighed, "This is about what I expected from you."

"FUCK OFF BIRD BRAIN!"

Todoroki knelt by the stretcher and rope, "Yaoyorozu, make a series of pulleys to pull them up. Tokoyami, you go down and use Dark Shadow to push them up as far as you can. Bakugou, Yaoyorozu and I will pull them up the rest of the way."

"Got it." Tokoyami nodded, appreciative to the hybrid Quirk-user's decisiveness.

Bakugou instantly protested, "Wait, why am I stuck doing this boring shit?! AND WHY THE FUCK SHOULD I LISTEN TO YOU?!"

Todoroki glared, "I don't want to waste any more time than I have to on this exercise. Either help out or get out of the way."

Before the argument could continue, Yaoyorozu intervened, "Both of you, be quiet! If you can't take this seriously and work together, then why are you even here? We need to cooperate to succeed, in school and in the real world! And besides, first, we need to reassure the victims!"

The explosive teen growled but didn't put up any more resistance while Todoroki just stayed silent as Yaoyorozu called down to the 'injured' students.

From below, Izuku and Uraraka were doing their best not to snicker at Iida's overwhelming seriousness. "PLEASE SAVE US! URARAKA IS DYING! HELP!"

"Yes, yes. We hear you, Iida." Tokoyami deadpanned, slightly put-off by the Class Rep. "Uraraka's unconscious, yes?"

Izuku nodded, "But Iida and I are injured so we can't really help you put her on the stretcher."

Tokoyami shrugged, "Doesn't matter. I always have help." Dark Shadow popped out at that moment and growled, posing intimidatingly over the four students.

 _Does he look...bigger? I could've sworn he was Tokoyami's size._ Izuku gazed in awe as the sentient Quirk - with great resistance - carried the Uraraka-laden stretcher up the cliffside, stopping about two-thirds the way up, coincidentally by the edge of the shadow that blanketed the rocky bottom in darkness.

From there, it wasn't long until the other two were back up the cliff, much to Iida's great relief, "THANK YOU, HEROES!"

That made Uraraka and Izuku burst out laughing, unable to contain their amusement any further. Even the stoic Tokoyami and serious Yaoyorozu smiled at the scene.

Thirteen stood in front of the class again, "Now, can someone tell me who the MVP was for this round?"

Given that Yaoyorozu was one of the participants, nobody raised their hand to answer, much to the Space Hero's annoyance, "It was Bakugou."

That came as a surprise, at least based on everyone's reactions, "Huh?!"

"Bakugou's Quirk is ill-suited to an operation like this. The fact that he stayed back and kept out the way by not using his Quirk to pull everyone up is proof that he thought about the best way he could help and executed it well."

Izuku smiled at that. _Even if he's kind of an ass, he's definitely one of the smartest people in the class. And to think he'd put his ego aside...maybe Kacchan's really changing._

* * *

 **One Hour Later**

 _...or maybe not_. Izuku sweatdropped while Bakugou ranted at being forced to work with others for the citywide rescue operation at the Ruins Zone. Thirteen had just assigned the former two, Uraraka, and Mineta the job of heroes while the other sixteen students were to hide in the cityscape and pretend to be injured.

Essentially, it was hide-and-seek, but for a grade.

And awesome.

"Bakugou, let's just try to get along and do our best, huh?" Uraraka placated, nervously laughing while moving in front of Izuku, just in case.

"...who are you?"

Her composure broke with her pride, "What?! We literally fought each other in the Battle Trial! We've talked before!"

"...I don't think so."

While they argued, Mineta looked around excitedly, "Hey, if we have to rescue all the other girls, then we can touch their butts and chests, right? When we carry them?"

Izuku sweatdropped, "You're not allowed to carry anyone, Mineta." _Could you even physically manage carrying someone?_

Thirteen announced five minutes for everyone to hide and then ordered the hero team to start the rescue operation.

"Okay, I can look for everyone with my Sharingan. Once I find someone, we can-"

"FUCK OFF, I'LL DO IT MYSELF!" Bakugou blasted off to God-Knows-Where, leaving his three 'partners' behind.

"...To be fair, he stuck around a lot longer than I thought he would." Izuku deadpanned, "Anyways, I was actually gonna suggest we split up once I locate the others."

Uraraka and Mineta nodded in agreement so Izuku went ahead with his search, "Sharingan! Okay...I can see Ojiro in the building right there...Kyoka hiding under that red car...Oh, Todoroki's in the building next door. That's everyone I can see from here so I guess we just go from there."

They agreed and split off, with Midoriya rescuing Ojiro, Mineta rescuing Todoroki (oh the irony), and Uraraka saving Jiro.

"Man, I don't know how you found me." Jiro chuckled as Uraraka released her Quirk on the car she lifted off the former.

"Well, Deku found you with his Quirk. I'm actually supposed to look for the others now."

"RUN!" Iida cried as he sped towards the two girls.

Uraraka smiled, "Iida, I found you!" _Why's he running like that?_

"RUN! THERE'S A VILLAIN!" Iida tackled Kyoka and Uraraka, narrowly avoiding the rock that sailed through the air.

Looking up, the two girls paled. "N-no freaking way." Jiro felt her blood run cold at the sight of a massive, muscular man with a black shirt, camo combat pants, and a full-face mask slowly stalking towards them, casually carrying someone's limp form with one hand.

Uraraka narrowed her eyes on the unconscious body in the man's grasp and felt her heart drop, "T-Todoroki?!" _The strongest in our class..._

"Hello children." His voice was muffled by the mask, yet its menace was clear, "Let's make this as painless as possible." He raised his free hand and waved it, creating a shockwave that blew the three students back.

"Guys? What's going on?" Izuku called, running towards the source of the disturbance and nearly fainted at the sight of three of his classmates facing off against an intimidatingly large villain.

Mineta cried, "A villain? Again?!"

Ojiro ran to Aizawa and Thirteen, "Sensei, we're under attack...again!"

"Sure." Aizawa dully remarked.

Thirteen hissed, "Senpai! This is serious."

Sighing, Aizawa spoke again, somehow even duller than before, "Oh no. What a mystery this is. And we're completely incapacitated."

Thirteen pointed to the exit enthusiastically, "Get everyone to escape! You're on your own, unfortunately."

"...I...I feel like I'm missing something." Ojiro remarked as he ran away from the teachers, "Everyone, head for the exit!"

The villain just laughed, "As if I'd let you!" He stomped once and made the earth shake. When the dust cleared, a massive chunk of the Ruins Zone had been levelled, "Ha! Now there's nowhere to hide!"

"WHO'S HIDING, DIPSHIT?!" Bakugou roared as he fired an explosion right into the villain's face. However, it didn't even make him flinch.

"Heh. You'll have to do better than that!" The villain tried to grab Bakugou, only for the explosive teen to blast out of the way and counterattack.

Bakugou growled at the lack of visible damage, "I'LL KILL THIS ASSHOLE, YOU HEAR ME? SO YOU EXTRAS JUST GET OUTTA MY WAY!"

Realization dawned on Izuku's face. _He's...trying to buy us time to escape? He really has changed..._

"Everyone, we can't let Bakugou do this himself while we run!" Iida called to the assembled students.

Yaoyorozu nodded, "We're all Class 1A, right? If we cooperate, we can definitely win!"

Everyone smiled at the encouragement and readied themselves for battle. Izuku rolled his shoulders and readied his Quirks, "Sharingan!" _That villain's fast...faster than I can keep up with...But he looks...familiar. In fact, I've definitely seen this energy signature before..._

"Let's go!" Iida cried like a general as he led 17 students to battle. The villain turned away from Bakugou and smirked at the united front displayed. He readied himself for another mighty stomp.

Unfortunately for him, Izuku said the last thing he wanted to hear at the moment, "All Might?!"

The students all stopped and stared at the greenette like he was crazy, oblivious to the nervously sweating mess before them.

"Midoriya, what are you talking about? Ribbit." Asui remarked.

Izuku pointed to the 'villain', "With my Quirk, he looks the same as All Might."

Class 1A stared accusingly at the 'villain' and took a few menacing steps towards him, which he responded with by stepping back. At that moment, Bakugou blasted up and ripped the mask off, revealing a chiseled, and familiar, blonde visage.

"... **I am here?** " All Might said rather meekly, slightly embarrassed to have been caught prematurely.

Todoroki suddenly moved and sighed, "Looks like the plan didn't work." He freed himself from All Might's grasp and dusted himself off.

All Might cleared his throat, "Sorry for the deception but I thought it important that you all have some more experience dealing with villains. Too many of you felt that what happened a few weeks ago was just a freak accident. But spontaneous and unexpected villain attacks are all too standard for a hero. My only hope is that you all learned...that..."

The hero stopped talking once he realized that nearly every student was glaring at him with hate, "...that...I'm sorry?"

For the next five minutes, All Might was treated like everyone's verbal punching bag until he was reduced to a blithering, broken mess. Aizawa just sighed, "I knew it."

Izuku sighed, but with relief, "I'm just glad it was a drill and not a real attack."

This made the other students stop and smile slightly. "Midoriya's right. That's something to be happy about." Yaoyorozu commented.

Iida nodded, "And at least this kept us on our toes before the festival."

All Might smiled joyously, "Midoriya, my boy!"

And just like that, all previously-built good will was gone.

"DON'T 'MIDORIYA, MY BOY' US!"

* * *

 **That Afternoon**

Izuku went to Recovery Girl's clinic to pick up Eri - and check in on the still-sobbing form of his mentor - then went to one of the study rooms for a student council meeting.

"Mr. All Might looked really sad." Eri commented dejectedly as she sat in her brother's lap by the Class 1A table.

Izuku nervously laughed, "W-well...he gave us a, uh, interesting surprise."

Iida and Yaoyorozu were still fuming, but at least stopped their profanities for the sake of present company. So did the other three student council members.

Once the tables were all filled, an orange-haired girl from Class 1B stood up, "Okay, I think we're all here so why don't we begin?"

"Typical Hero Course. Who made you leader?" A guy with purple hair and rather dark eyes commented from the Class 1C table.

A guy from Class 1B with silver hair, incredibly thick and prominent lashes, and familiarly sharp teeth jumped up, "Hey, what's your damage? You wanna take this outside, Einstein?"

"Tetsutetsu, please." The orange girl waved him down, "Sorry about that. To answer your question, well, nobody. But if you're volunteering, then by all means." The girl responded as she sat down, her irritation gracefully subdued.

The purple man shrugged and stood up, "I'm Hitoshi Shinso. We're from Gen-Ed so we're really only here to see what the fuss is about. And now that I see you...I'm not impressed."

Shinso was looking directly at Class 1A as he spoke, "Depending on how we do on Friday, the Hero Department'll consider our transfer applications. So none of us are here to make friends or whatever. We're just here to see who we need to beat."

He sat down, leaving a palpably awkward silence in the air, only broken by, "You're gonna lose. Round 1. Calling it right now."

"Hmph. Guess you Class A kids really are as pretentious as you seem. Whatever. That'll just make dealing with you all the sweeter." A blonde kid with pale blue eyes joked from the 1B table.

"HUH? WHO'S THIS PUNK..." Bakugou turned to Izuku, "Cover her ears tightly." Once Izuku complied, much to Eri's confusion, Bakugou unleashed the storm, "...BITCH? I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU ARYAN FUCK! YOU SERIOUSLY WANNA TALK ALL THIS SHIT WITH YOUR SMUG, SUNBURNS-EASILY LOOKING ASS?! COME AT ME MOTHERFUCKER! I'LL FUCKING VAPORIZE YOU!"

After a moment of pause for the echo to fade out, Iida went into full Iida-mode, "Bakugou, stop this at once! This is no way for our Treasurer to act!" He bowed to the other tables, "Apologies! Please continue."

The rest of the council was stunned silent, but the orange girl from before managed to close her jaw enough to speak, "W-well...I'm, uh, Itsuka Kendo, the Class Rep. This is Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, our Deputy Rep. The...lovely person to my left is Neito Monoma, our Secretary and-"

She was cut off by Bakugou's raucous laughter, "What was his name?!"

"Sh!" Yaoyorozu hissed, "Apologies for our Treasurer. His name's Katsuki Bakugou." Whispers filled the air as people recognized the name of the top-scoring participant in the entrance exam by a long shot, at least in terms of Villain Points.

"And this is Tenya Iida, our Class Representative. Our Secretary is Ejiro Kirishima and our Historian is Mina Ashido. My name's Momo Yaoyorozu and I'm co-Deputy Representatives with Izuku Midoriya." She gestured to the greenette with the child, "Oh, and this is Eri."

Shinso's eyes immediately narrowed, "You're Izuku Midoriya? Top score on the entrance exam?"

Izuku shifted back in his seat from the sudden attention but nodded.

The blonde boy from 1B, Monoma, smirked, "Oh, so you're the one who got injured at USJ. You don't look all that tough. You sure you belong here?"

Before anyone else could retort, a soft and shy voice spoke, "Deku-nii's the strongest." Eri wouldn't look at Monoma, opting instead to twiddle her thumbs shyly, but the recipient was clear off of context.

Monoma smirked at Eri, "You babysitting or something? Who let the annoying brat in?"

"OI, ONLY I CAN CALL HER A BRAT!" Bakugou growled.

Kirishima stood up defensively, "Insult our Midoriya all you want, but nobody messes with Eri!"

Mina cracked her knuckles, "I'm so gonna enjoy this more than I should."

Iida fixed his glasses, "I normally wouldn't condone this, but you are out of line, good sir!" He rolled up his pants, revealing his exhaust ports.

Kendo raised her hands placatingly, "Wait, let's keep calm!"

Yaoyorozu nodded, "Seriously, we shouldn't resort to violence...even if he is a punk...something." She blushed at her inability to say the profanity.

Luckily, Izuku was ready to quell the storm for the second time that day, "Guys, it's fine. Eri, are you okay?"

She nodded with a blank expression, "I couldn't really hear him. His voice got all nasally."

 _...Oh._ The Class 1A students sat back down, rather embarrassed at their display, while Monoma seethed, the only thing stopping him from a full-scale eruption being Kendo's hand over his mouth.

She chuckled nervously, "I'm really sorry about that! Why don't we continue? This was supposed to be about class intros for the Sports Festival, right?"

Izuku couldn't pay attention to the rest of the intros. Instead, he was too caught up thinking about Monoma and Shinso. _I don't know why they're like this...but I definitely don't wanna lose to them, of all people. For that matter...I want to win!_

 _Besides..._ He looked at the child in his lap and reflected on the two other important people in his life. _...I've got people counting on me to!_

* * *

 **And that's it! I hope you enjoyed the fluff/filler stuff as much I did! But I'm also excited to get back to the plot.**

 **Sorry if you want a timeline for this chapter, but just imagine it's evenly spread out between the time before the Sports Festival.**

 **As always, any and all feedback/comments are appreciated. I'll try to get the next one out before the end of the week. Maybe I'll even get two out!**

 **Probably not tho.**


	10. The Sports Festival

**Yippee I'm back and so is the plot!**

 **Also, welcome to Chapter 10! We did it, Reddit!**

 **Speaking of achievement:**

 **500 FOLLOWERS?!**

 **350 FAVORITES?!**

 **250 REVIEWS?!**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...k**

* * *

 **Q/A:**

 **\- Would you believe me if I told you that the last chapter was just an excuse for that one Izuku/Bakugou bit?**

 **\- In my AU, the Sharingan's a mutagenic Quirk, kinda like Eri's Rewind. But the Sharingan is also a recurring mutation, meaning that it randomly pops up amongst the population. So it has nothing to do with heredity (sorry but Izuku's not a secret, long-lost Uchiha).**

 **\- Izuku WILL learn about all the awesome abilities of the Sharingan (YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST FOLKS), but not in the way you might think. Take that as you will.**

 **\- In terms of Izuku copying a martial art, that's what he learned from Ojiro (SIDE NOTE: I said Ojiro was faster than the Sharingan in the last chapter which is WRONG. I fixed it, if you care.) But like in any fight, the more important thing is having quick reflexes and reactions rather than knowing special attacks. So Izuku could learn all the special grapples he wants, but it doesn't mean anything if he can't execute them.**

 **\- Of course the time limit with the Sharingan will increase. It's just an easy way to demonstrate growth and enforce limitation since I can't use chakra levels in MHA. And he can always push himself (like at USJ) past his limits, granted that he can deal with the horrible, searing agony.**

 **On that lovely note...**

* * *

 _Chapter 10: The Sports Festival_

* * *

It was a bright and sunny Friday morning in Musutafu, Japan. The air was positively alive, the May heat gently warming the earth. And across said Earth, civilians everywhere brimming with excitement over what was to come: the much-anticipated UA Sports Festival.

 _Today's the day...after all the training I did...it's finally here._ Izuku slowly chewed on his rice, unable to muster up much of an appetite.

"Izuku, sweetie?" Inko placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "You've barely touched your food. You need your strength, you know?"

He smiled appreciatively at his mom, "Yeah, I know. I'm just thinking, is all."

She nodded knowingly, "You know, it's okay to be nervous. I mean, it's the UA Sports Festival! You're amazing just for participating!"

Izuku laughed, "I know. I know. But I'm not really nervous per say. I mean, it's kinda scary to be on stage in front of the whole world, but I've also been working for this for so long. It's weird but it's like I'm somewhere between nervous and excited, you know what I mean?"

"Nope." Inko deadpanned, but chuckled soon after, "But I know you're gonna do your best! Now hurry up and finish so we can go. You too, young lady."

"Yes, ma'am." Eri said obediently as she devoured her daily morning apple with gusto, earning coos from the other two family members.

 _I should really thank All Might again for giving them tickets._ Izuku thought as he finally finished his breakfast and changed into his gym uniform.

The train station was absolutely packed with people heading to the UA stadiums, so it was only natural that the Midoriyas were assaulted with a steady stream of 'Hey, good luck!' and "Do your best!' and 'We're rooting for ya'!' among other pieces of encouragement once they saw Izuku's gym uniform.

On the train itself, a few kids gathered around the middle Midoriya to hear exciting stories about UA and what his Quirk was, much to the latter's embarrassment.

Inko, on the other hand, was already about to bawl at the attention her son was receiving, even though Eri pouted slightly at having 'Deku-nii's' attention diverted.

But it wasn't long until they arrived at the UA gates and the family had to separate. "Alright, we're supposed to head straight to our seats in the first-year stadium"

Izuku nodded, "I think I need to go to the waiting area for students so that we can make our entrance."

Inko smiled and cupped her son's cheek, "Hey, do your best! We're gonna be cheering for you!"

Eri nodded and, after a moment's hesitation, hugged Izuku's leg, "Good luck, Deku-nii."

Izuku looked at his family and grinned confidently, "Thanks! I'll see you afterwards."

Once they left for the stadium entrance, Izuku made for the student entrance, only for a strong hand to cup his shoulder, "Yo, Young Midoriya."

"A-All Mi-" Another hand clamped over his mouth.

All Might hissed, "Ssh! I'm skinny right now!" He removed his hand from Izuku's face, cautiously watching the moving crowd around them.

"S-sorry. What're you doing here?"

All Might grinned, probably scaring a few kids with his skeletal visage, "I came to see how you were doing." He gestured for Izuku to follow and led him down the student path.

"O-oh, I'm good, thanks. And my Mom and Eri really liked the tickets! Thanks again."

He laughed, "It's nothing. Recovery Girl insisted anyways. She thought it'd be good for Young Eri. Is she doing better?"

Izuku nodded, smiling, "Yeah, she's doing really well. She and my mom are getting really close, too."

"Ha ha! I'm glad to hear that." All Might looked straight at his protégé, "But how are you doing?"

"Huh?" Izuku was taken aback.

"You feel ready for the Sports Festival? Nervous? Excited? We haven't really had much time to catch up the last few weeks."

 _Besides two days ago when you traumatized half the class..._ Izuku sheepishly chuckled at the memory. "I'm feeling good, actually. I got the Sharingan's time limit to around 10 minutes of straight use."

All Might flashed a huge smile, "Hey, that's great news! That'd probably help with some of the preliminary events. But what about One For All? Did you increase your limit at all?"

Izuku nodded, "Yea I can manage about 5% now. But I actually figured out a couple really cool things to do with One For All! See, I let it-"

All Might held up a polite hand, "Hey, I think it'd be better if you surprised me with this. Besides, we're already at your stop." True to word, the duo was right by the Class 1A waiting room.

"Oh." Izuku looked down and sighed, "I haven't forgotten, you know. What you asked me to do."

 _This kid..._ All Might placed a hand on Izuku's head and softly rustled his hair, "Good man. I'll be cheering for you." He removed his hand and went to the elevator to the teacher's viewing box.

Izuku touched his hair where All Might had ruffled it and smiled, a warm tint on his cheeks.

"Oh, Deku!" Uraraka called from one of the tables. Yaoyorozu and Kirishima waved to him from across the table.

Deku grinned back, "Hey. You feel ready?"

Uraraka laughed nervously, "I thought I was but man, do I feel nervous now!"

"Ribbit. You're probably not ready then."

"A-Asui!" Yaoyorozu chastised, "Be more considerate."

"You're one to talk. Ribbit."

Izuku laughed sheepishly at the two dejected females' comically downtrodden expressions. _They're all clearly nervous, but they're definitely gonna give it their all...I have some really awesome friends, don't I?_

"Midoriya." A serious and rather monotonous voice interrupted his thoughts.

He turned around, "Todoroki? What's up?"

The taller boy looked dead into Izuku's eyes with unusual intensity, "It's safe to say that I'm stronger than you."

"Huh...I mean, yeah." _What's going on?_

"I don't know why, but All Might's got his eye on you, doesn't he?"

Izuku's face went stark white, "W-what?" _Does he know about One For All? No...he just suspects something...but_ _what_ _?!_

Todoroki sighed, "I'm not gonna make you answer. But I'm going to beat you."

The entire class was focused now. Kaminari joked, "Man, you're really in it for Midoriya's blood."

Todoroki coldly retorted, "I'm not here to pretend to make friends."

"Hey, that's uncalled for, Todoroki. There's being competitive and then there's being flat-out hostile." Yaoyorozu said sternly.

The dual-Quirk user was silent for a moment before sighing and turning away.

 _I...I should say something._

Unfortunately for the greenette, the door opened wide to reveal the always-energetic Class Rep, "Everyone, we're going out first. Let's go!...did I miss something?" He said, noting the tense atmosphere.

"No." Todoroki bumped past him on his way out.

Ignoring that, everyone lined up by class number and waited by the stadium entrance.

"Midoriya." Yaoyorozu whispered from behind Mineta, "You okay? I don't know what's up with Todoroki."

Izuku nodded with a slight smile, "Yea, I'm fine. I actually wanted to talk to him but I guess that'll have to wait."

"WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LET'S KICK OFF THE FIRST-YEAR STAGE!" Present Mic's voice cut through the air on the stadium loudspeakers, "THEY'RE THE ONES TO WATCH THIS YEAR! FRESH OFF A VILLAIN ATTACK AND TOUGHER THAN EVER, IT'S THE HERO COURSE'S CLASS A!"

Everyone took a collective breath and stepped into the sunlight, allowing themselves to get swept up in the crowd's cheers.

Uraraka gasped, "Wow, there's so many people!"

"...I don't like this." Izuku squeaked, all his prior confidence gone. _I wonder where Mom and Eri are. I could probably find them with the Sharingan but there's so many people, I might just burn it out!_

Mina commented, "Wow, they're really hyping us up!"

"Don't know how that's gonna sit with the other classes." Kirishima deadpanned as he remembered the disaster that was the student council meeting.

Present Mic continued to call the other seven classes and had all the students assemble around the stage where a...interesting figure stood.

"PLEASE GIVE IT UP FOR YOUR REFERREE FOR THE FIRST-YEAR STAGE: THE R-RATED HERO: MIDNIGHT!"

The titular heroine smirked and brandished her whip with a profound swing of her hips, "Representing the first-year students is Class 1A's Izuku Midoriya!"

"...huh?" _Who?_

"Midoriya, go!" Yaoyorozu hissed, pushing him towards the stage.

"B-b-b-b-b-but...what?!" He timidly walked up the steps and approached the mic.

Kirishima scratched his head, "I guess it's cuz Midoriya got first on the entrance exam."

"On the Hero Course exam." One of the Gen-Ed students retorted dryly with a glare.

Izuku gulped. _NOBODY TOLD ME I HAD TO SPEAK! THERE'S SO MANY PEOPLE!_ "Um...h-hello." He muttered into the mic, unwittingly causing a static whine to reverberate throughout the arena.

* * *

Grasping his ears, Aizawa remarked from the announcer's box, "You know, I don't think I told Midoriya that he was gonna give a speech."

Present Mic's eyes bulged, "Seriously?"

Aizawa nodded, causing the blonde to fall into hysterics, "Man, Shota! You're a terrible person!"

* * *

"W-well...I-I..." _This is bad! People are already getting bored! I need to make a good impression and fast!...WHAT DO I SAY?!_

Shinso smirked, "Looks like he wasn't much after all."

"Man, this is the best student in Class A? Guess that really says a lot, huh?" Monoma snickered.

Blushing from those comments among other overheard whispers, Izuku took a deep breath. _Just say what you're thinking and get this over with. Say what you wanted to tell Shinso and Monoma...and Todoroki._

"U-um...I know I probably don't deserve to be up here."

The audience collectively fell silent and leaned forward.

"...Most everyone here is probably stronger than me. I'm only even up here because I got lucky in the entrance exam."

Yaoyorozu cocked her head, "He's being really self-deprecating, huh?"

Iida put a hand to his chin, "He must be playing humble, right?"

"But everyone here's trying to do their best...aiming for the top spot. So...I guess what I wanna say is...I'm not gonna fall behind. I'm gonna shoot for the win with everything I've got!"

Izuku bowed and descended from the stage to fairly loud applause - and one insanely loud sob. On the steps, he locked eyes with Todoroki.

For a second, they just stared at each other before nodding and breaking eye contact. _I'd say that means he got the gist of it._

"Deku! That speech was awesome!" Uraraka applauded.

Izuku blushed and rubbed his head, "Y-you think so? I'm glad you liked it."

"Indeed, that was quite galvanizing!"

 _Is Iida even trying to sound like a normal teen anymore?_

Midnight cleared her throat, "Now that we're all positively aroused by the student rep, let's get right into the first event!" She waved her whip towards a wall, which rapidly deconstructed, revealing a hidden gate.

The screen behind her flashed yellow and the first event appeared, "THE OBSTACLE COURSE! YOU'LL ALL RUN 4 KILOMETERS AROUND THE STADIUM PERIMETER. BUT WATCH OUT FOR THE TRAPS AND DANGERS WE SET OUT FOR YOU! NOW GET IN POSITION!"

The students all stood just outside the course entrance and readied themselves to take off.

"REMEMBER, AS LONG AS YOU STAY ON THE TRACK, ANYTHING GOES! WHEN THE GREEN LIGHT GOES ON, START!"

Todoroki cracked his neck and extended his right arm, small waves of mist already forming. _I'll finish this in one hit._

The red light flashed.

Bakugou formed a fist and growled at the hybrid-Quirk user. _That bastard...he challenged the wrong person._

The yellow light turned on.

Izuku stretched out and took a deep breath. _Okay. This is perfect for my training. The second the light changes, I'll do_ _it_ _!_

The light turned green accompanied by a sonorous horn.

Instantly, everything went to shit.

"Gah!" Izuku groaned as he was forced between the rushing crowd in the hallway out of the stadium. _Can't even focus! It's so narrow, it's basically a bottleneck!_

However, the ground suddenly became encased with ice, entrapping most of the students.

"Hey!"

"What the hell?!"

"AND TODOROKI FREEZES HALF OF THE STUDENTS IN ONE MOVE!"

Todoroki ran past the trapped students, "So the hall's the first filter...too bad."

"You're too naïve, Todoroki!" Yaoyorozu called as she created a pole to propel herself out of his attack's range.

Bakugou roared as he blasted over the ice field, "YOU THINK IT'LL BE THAT EASY, ICY HOT?!"

One by one, more and more students appeared through the crowd, each escaping Todoroki's trap in their own Quirky ways ( **A.N. HAH! PUNS!** ).

"Hm. That's more people than I thought." Todoroki remarked as he kept running at full speed.

"Todoroki!" Mineta cried from high in the air, "You think you're so hot?"

"Not really. I actually actively try to be cold."

"Shut up! Take this: Special Move: Gra-" Mineta was cut short on account of getting flicked to oblivion by a giant metal finger.

Todoroki skid to a halt, "Robots?" _Are these the same robots from the entrance exam?_ There was a fairly sizeable army of the small robots and around ten of the massive Zero-Pointers.

Those who took the Hero Course's exam instantly stopped and contemplated running away. Everyone else instantly stopped and contemplated how much shit they gave those who took the Hero Course's exam.

"THE FIRST OBSTACLE: ROBO INFERNO!"

* * *

In the stands, it was becoming evidently clear that the real hazard wasn't giant robots but the flood risk coming from the green-haired mother tightly gripping her white-haired daughter - how does that work, genetically? - while watching the race on the big screen.

"No, you can't fight those! Please just run away, baby!" She wailed, presumably for her child.

"Miss Inko...it's okay. Deku-nii worked really hard for this." Eri placated, patting the mother's knees.

She wiped her face and took a deep breath, "You're right, sweetie. Sorry for getting all hysterical."

The onlookers sweatdropped. _Who's the adult?!_

From the teacher's box, All Might smiled at the sight of the Midoriyas 'enjoying' the festival. But his expression hardened when he turned back to the screen. _I suppose it doesn't even matter if you win this round as long as you get to the next one. But I guess it's time to see the fruits of your labors, Young Midoriya._

* * *

"...How does UA even pay for this?" Yaoyorozu deadpanned, mentally calculating how to build a mortar.

Izuku gulped. _This is bad. I probably can't beat the Zero Pointers without breaking my body! I'll just have to go around!_ He spread his feet apart and clenched his fists at his hips, "One For All: Fu-"

A sudden cold breeze broke his attention, "I almost wish there was something better..." Todoroki placed his hand on the ground and swiped up at an encroaching 'Thwomp', "...since my old man's watching."

In an instant, many of the robots, including the Zero-Pointers, were encased in a thick layer of ice. Without even marveling at the insanity of his feat, he took off past the machines.

"H-hey, he just beat them! Let's go!" Some poor sod exclaimed.

"I wouldn't." Todoroki called as he cleared the obstacle, "I froze them while they were off-balance, so they'd fall." On cue, a few of the Zero-Pointers toppled over, dousing the students in dust and frost.

"Holy shit! He could've killed us!"

"Wait, someone's buried there! Look!"

"No way! Are people gonna die?!"

From under one of the collapsed bots, someone emerged with a roar and the shattering of metal, "Seriously, Todoroki? I'm the only one who could've survived that!"

From under one of the collapsed bots, someone emerged with a roar and the shattering of metal, "Seriously, Class A? I'm the only one who could've survived that!"

The redhead and silver-head looked at each other before groaning and taking off. "Seriously man? I already don't stand out as it is!"

"You kidding me? I didn't ask to get freaking Mecha-Godzilla dropped on my head!"

Kaminari chuckled, "Man, they're lucky that they can just break through the robots."

"SHUT UP, PIKACHU!" Bakugou roared as he rocketed himself up and over the Zero-Pointers, followed closely by Sero and Tokoyami.

"WOW! CLASS A IS OVERWHELMINGLY IN THE LEAD! ANY THOUGHTS, ERASERHEAD?"

Aizawa's dull voice sounded through the speakers, "It's not because the other classes are bad or anything. It's because Class A's gone through a trial by fire and forgotten how to hesitate."

Izuku smiled at the sentiment as he jumped at a One-Pointer. _These guys are faster than the Sharingan can keep up with. But with 5%..._

"Carolina Smash!" Izuku jumped forward and delivered a full-powered cross-chop that pulverized the speedy machine. _Now to find an opening!_

On cue, a sound like a cannon reverberated through the air. Izuku turned to see...a cannon.

Yaoyorozu turned and fired shot after shot, each time incapacitating a different Zero-Pointer. She smirked, "Easy."

 _...Her shirt's open..._ Ignoring his blush, Izuku took off, only to stop again once he realized that one of the Zero-Pointers' head was falling forward. "Yaoyorozu!"

"Working on it!" She called back, struggling to move the cannon up.

 _It's not gonna get there in time..._ Izuku jumped without hesitation and grinned. "Good thing I came prepared!"

There was a brilliant flash of light, the smell of ozone, and the sound of a falcon's cry. Then, the Zero-Pointer head exploded, revealing one very happy Izuku and a slightly steaming, slightly red hand.

 _It doesn't hurt too bad. And now's my opening!_ He focused the power that he used to keep in one place around his body instead. His entire being became outlined in red veins.

Then he landed, kicking up a small cloud of dust. Then it was suddenly pushed back with a light shockwave.

Izuku was glowing...literally. His skin crackled with green lightning and his red eyed were rimmed with emerald light. He smirked, "One For All: Full Cowl!"

* * *

"YES! YES!" All Might cheered, jumping up and down in his seat.

"Ahem." Ectoplasm and Cementoss cleared their throats, causing the blushing blonde to sit back down and attempt to regain his composure.

* * *

Yaoyorozu smirked, "Huh. I was wondering when you'd pull those out."

Izuku grinned at her, "I just needed a moment to breathe. See you at the finish line!" He took off at a sprint and reveled in the feeling of his new ability.

A Three-Pointer and a Two-Pointer were in his way.

Without a second's hesitation, he casually knocked them aside and kept moving. Soon enough, he came upon the second obstacle.

"IF YOU THOUGHT THE LAST ONE WAS EASY, THEN TRY: THE FALL!"

Izuku gulped at the task: several rock pillars attached together by tightropes over a seemingly endless chasm.

"Huh, Deku?"

Izuku turned to face Uraraka, Mina, and Tsuyu, "Oh hey! You're all here too!"

Asui pointed at him, "Midoriya, you're sparking. Ribbit."

He looked down and laughed with realization, "Oh, it's just my new technique. Cool, right? I found a way to control my Quirk without hurting myself!"

"Woah! So you're like a glowstick now!" Mina poked Izuku and yelped when a stray arc caught her finger.

"S-sorry." He turned back to the chasm. _I can see Todoroki and Kacchan around the halfway point!_ "How can we catch up to them?"

Tsuyu answered, "It's just a tightrope." She jumped forward and began crawling across the rope like a...frog.

"Heh heh. This is my chance!" The three Class A students turned to see a girl with pink hair wearing goggles, special boots, and several other apparatuses, "Take a good look, all you Support Companies! Especially the big ones!"

 _...I'm guessing she's in the Support Course._

Mina protested, "Hey, why do you get to have all those tools? No fair!"

The mysterious girl chuckled mischievously, "Heh! For us Support Course students, we're allowed to use whatever gear we make ourselves to even the odds with you Hero kids." She tapped a button on her belt, releasing what looked like a grapping hook from the device around her torso.

"This is the best way for us in the Support Course to show off!" She giggled as the hook secured itself into a pillar and pulled her towards it with great force. She then activated her boots, which propelled her up using fans. With these two tools, she essentially rocketed over the majority of the obstacle in one shot.

"Look at my babies!"

Mina groaned, "Talk about misplaced equality!"

Izuku sweatdropped. _Mina...I don't think that's ever been a thing..._ He jumped from rope to rope, relying on the tension to keep him from slipping. _I wish I could figure out something else, but it takes so much just to keep Full Cowl going, I can barely process the info from the Sharingan._

"Just stay at 5%. Stay at 5%. Stay at-" Izuku felt his foot slip off a rope, "Huh?"

He started to tip over. _NO! NO! NO! NO!_ He fell down. _NO! NO! NO! NO! DAMMIT!_ Then he stopped.

"Please be more careful in the future." A soft voice called from above.

He suddenly realized that green vines were wrapped around his torso. And they were pulling him up.

Once on level ground, he turned to his savior, "Thanks so mu - It's you! You're Shiozaki, right? Class B's Treasurer."

She nodded with a smile, thorny vines retracting back to her head, "Nice to see you again Midoriya and you're welcome, but we really should keep going."

"O-oh...right." He continued his trek across the ropes - more carefully this time - but berated himself. _Dammit! Again, I'm only in the running because of dumb luck! Now I NEED to win...otherwise...how do I know I even deserve this?_

In the front lines, Todoroki just finished sliding across the last rope when he felt a wave of heat behind him. He ducked instinctively, just in time to avoid Bakugou's blast. _He caught up? Must've been a slow starter._

"Dammit, Icy Hot! You declared war on the wrong person!" Bakugou roared as he fired an explosion backwards, both pushing him forward and halting the former leader's momentum.

* * *

The crowd was whipped into a frenzy at the sight of Todoroki, son of the Number 2 Hero, Endeavor, dominating much of the race.

"Man, that kid isn't just a powerful Quirk. Look at his athleticism and perception! He'd give a Pro a run for the money!"

In the background of the stands, a certain hero grinned, the flames on his beard practically dancing as he overheard the praise, "That's the way."

"AND JUST LIKE THAT, Bakugou FROM CLASS A STEALS THE LEAD! BUT WILL HE KEEP IT?!"

The same man, Endeavor, clenched his fist and his eyes hardened dangerously, "Shoto..."

* * *

"AND JUST LIKE THAT, THEY'RE AT THE FINAL OBSTACLE: THE AFGHAN CARPET!"

"The mines aren't really harmful, but they don't tickle either." Aizawa added.

Izuku shook himself free of his nerves at the sight of so many mines and focused on his goal. _They're already halfway across...I almost wish I had a panel like in the entrance exam. Would've just blown myself up for a boost._ Izuku smiled at his joke but went to work.

 _With just the Sharingan, I still wouldn't have the speed or agility to avoid the mines. But with Full Cowl and all that training with Ashido..._ After intensely training with and observing the pinkette and combining his two Quirks, jumping around the mines was practically effortless.

 _I can still catch up. I can still catch up. I HAVE to catch up!_ "KACCHAN!"

Bakugou temporarily stopped assaulting Todoroki to look at the sound's source, while the latter also turned away, "Deku?" His gaze hardened at the electricity-shrouded teen. _Another power-up?! Goddammit!_

"I'm not gonna lose to you! Either of you!" With their attention on him, Izuku remembered what he felt against the Nomu. _I want them to stop. Stop. Stop!_ Deactivating Full Cowl to focus, Izuku called, "Sharingan!"

His eye immediately itched and he saw the red and black pattern reflected in his opponents' eyes. Todoroki and Bakugou instantly seized up, albeit only for a moment.

 _Yes! It worked!_ "Sorry, but I can't let anyone down!" Izuku overtook them and felt a sudden lightness in his chest.

"AND MIDORIYA TAKES THE LEAD! Bakugou AND TODOROKI ARE SO STUNNED THEY CAN'T EVEN MOVE!"

"Huh? Deku...what happened?" Bakugou started to stir.

"NEVERMIND!"

Todoroki snapped out of it as well, "Was that his Quirk?" They quickly realized they were behind and took off with less-than-kind intent.

 _Dammit! It didn't work nearly as well as it did against Nomu!_ Izuku reactivated Full Cowl just in time for the three of them to exit the minefield and madly dash for the homestretch at the same time.

"DAMMIT DEKU!" Bakugou fired explosions to his side, trying to push back the greenette in the middle, who was also busy dodging icy blows from the hybrid-Quirk wielder.

 _Wait for it..._ The three of them entered the tunnel back to the stadium. _Now!_ Izuku, recalling his lessons against Ojiro, slapped Todoroki's chin up and immediately pushed his collarbone, both with his right hand. Todoroki bumped into the wall and fell behind, temporarily stunned.

He then waited for Bakugou's next explosion, which he not only dodged, but managed to catch the latter in a wrist-lock. Using his momentum from continuously running and his enhanced strength, Izuku jumped into the trapped Bakugou, knocking the wind out of him against the wall while the former simply ricocheted back into the middle of the path, just in time to exit the hall and reenter the stadium.

"AND THE FIRST ONE BACK IS IZUKU MIDORIYA!"

Cheers erupted from the audience and confetti descended on the panting teen. He was remotely aware of Todoroki charging in, followed closely by Bakugou, but he was too busy wiping the tears from his eyes.

 _I did it...I did it!_ He looked up at the teacher's box and grinned at his smiling mentor.

"IZUUUUUUU!" He turned and saw his mother wailing so hard from the stands, she created a small geyser. In her lap, Eri was actually beaming at him.

He chuckled and waved at his family. _Don't cry. Don't cry. Screw it._ Izuku just let the triumphant tears fall as he watched the rest of the students enter the stadium again.

Bakugou looked at the weeping wimp and rubbed his right arm, the one that got caught in a grab. "That's twice now...that little...THAT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN, YA HEAR ME, DEKU?!"

Todoroki rubbed his head. _Whatever he hit me with...it completely threw me off. But all I remember is red..._

"Deku, that was awesome!" Uraraka panted once she finished, "You were jumping and stuff. Man, are you sure your costume isn't a rabbit."

He chuckled with a slight blush. _Why is she always so close?_ "I-it wasn't much."

Iida sulked, "I can't believe I got sixth...in a race of all things. That's so uncool of me!"

Uraraka patted his back, "Well, it could be worse." She pointed to Yaoyorozu, who looked oddly tired for someone who placed first in Aizawa's fitness test.

Then she turned to the side and everything made sense again.

"U-um...do you need some help getting off, Mineta?" Izuku asked tentatively.

"NO THANK YOU! I'VE GOTTEN OFF PLENTY OF TIMES! HAHAHAHA!" Mineta cackled, in some sort of supreme nirvana.

Yaoyorozu groaned, "Seriously, Midoriya, use that hand move and just blow him away."

Izuku raised his hands nervously, "U-um...that might k-kill him, Yaoyorozu."

"YES! BLOW ME! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

"...Maybe just a little bit..."

* * *

After FINALLY removing Mineta from Yaoyorozu's shirt - and promising her both therapy and a restraining order - the second event began.

"Cavalry Battle!" Midnight announced from atop the stage. "Forming teams of two to four, participants get into horse-and-rider formation and try to steal the headbands of their opponents. Based on how you did in the last event, you were all assigned points increasing in increments of five with last place starting with just five points."

A devious smile overtook her features as the screen behind her showed the point chart, "But first place is worth ten million points."

"...eh?!"

Izuku suddenly felt 41 hungry pairs of eyes on him. _I...I've made a terrible mistake._

Midnight snickered at the panicked look on the frontrunner's face. _This round is all about comebacks. It's_ _anyone's_ _game!_ "Each team will receive a headband displaying that team's total point value. Your job is to get as may headbands as you can to stay in the lead. Even if you lose your headband or fall, you're still in the game. The only way to get disqualified is intentionally knocking the rider off of another team."

Bakugou swore under his breath, "Fucking pussies."

"You can use your Quirks for anything else though. You have 15 minutes to choose teams!"

Three things happened almost instantly:

* * *

One, Todoroki immediately picked out three of his classmates and pulled them aside.

"You three form the ideal team of horses. Together, we'd have a counter for Bakugou's explosions and Midoriya's reflexes as well as the defense needed to keep our own points."

"I see. So you'd use your ice and fire to keep others at bay as the rider, then?"

Todoroki's gaze steeled, "No. I never use my left." He looked to the stands where his 'beloved' father stood, shining brightly like a pompous asshole.

* * *

Two, Bakugou got swarmed by prospective teammates hoping to use his Quirk and point value to secure their place in the next round.

"Bakugou, pick me!" Mina jumped.

"Nah, you want my strength, right?" Sato flexed.

"How about...a sparkle?" Aoyama weakly grunted, his stomach still in agony from the race.

"...who're you?"

Before the other three could scream at the ignorant blonde, Kirishma clapped him on the shoulder, "Yo, Bakubro, let's go!"

Bakugou turned to him and scoffed, "Psh. Weird hair."

"My hair's not even that different than yours!" _...Pick your battles, Kirishima._ "Look, you wanna be the rider, right? Who else but me could be the front horse and tank your shots?"

Bakugou was about to turn away, his interest waning, when the red head said, "You're after the ten million, right?"

The explosive teen swiveled, "You have my attention."

"With me, it's practically guaranteed!"

Bakugou grinned, a surefire sign of inevitable genocide, "Alright, Kirishima's front horse. Now for the rest of the extras..."

* * *

Three, Izuku was left completely alone.

 _Nobody wants to keep the points for the entire game! Stupid ten million! At least for me, points don't matter...I guess I should get people I get along with..._

"Hey...Ojiro?" He meekly approached the martial artist, only for the latter to not-so-discreetly scoot away.

"Hey, Kirishima?"

"FUCK OFF, DEKU! I CALLED DIBS ON WEIRD HAIR!"

"You just said my name right though..." Kirishima groaned while Izuku tried - and failed - to recruit Ashido or Sato.

 _Kaminari, Iida and Yaoyorozu are all over there! Maybe they don't have a team!_

"Hey you guys! Do any of you wanna team up?" _Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes!_

"Yeah!" Kaminari thumbs-upped.

 _YES!_

"But Todoroki already asked. Sorry bro." Kaminari clapped the shattered Izuku's shoulder with an apologetic smile.

Yaoyorozu smiled too, "Sorry Midoriya."

Iida rubbed his head, "Midoriya...you're an exceptional friend and a great hero. But...seeing you succeed has reminded me that I need to strive for the top as well." He stared at Izuku with newfound grit, "I've lost to you three times. No more. Todoroki isn't the only one who sees you as a rival."

They walked off, leaving Izuku stunned silent. _I mean...I'm glad he sees me as a rival...BUT WHO SEES ME AS A FRIEND RIGHT NOW?!_

"Deku!"

His neck creaked with panic as he turned to Uraraka.

"Let's team up!"

"URARAKA!" Izuku cried a literal river, "Are you sure? Everyone's trying to come after me and my stupid points!"

She smiled, "That's fine! It's better to team up with people you're friends with, right?"

 _Oh no...it's coming...HEART CLENCH!_

"Huh? Your face is all...ugly."

He wiped his eyes, "S-sorry. I'm just...really glad."

Too bad it didn't last: "Person in first, team up with me!"

Izuku turned to the speaker, "H-huh? You're that girl from before. In the Support Course!" _Why does she wanna team up with me?_

She chuckled, "I'm Mei Hatsume! I don't know you, but if you're in first, then everyone's gonna be watching you, right! That means if I'm with you, I'll be in the spotlight! That means all the big shot companies will have to look at my super-cute babies!"

"...Babies?" Uraraka questioned while Izuku went fetal at Hatsume's close proximity.

"But I'm also useful to you!" Hatsume pulled out a wide swath of tools from God-Knows-Where.

 _...she doesn't even notice me, huh?_

"By the way, my Quirk's called Zoom! It lets me see up to 5 kilometers away!"

"W-woah! My Quirk lets me magnify things but yours is telescopic in nature! That's so cool!"

 _...they're friends already..._

A deep yet dull voice cut through the air, "Yo, pink girl."

Mei turned with her trademark mysterious grin, "Yes?" Her smile instantly faded.

Shinso smirked, "Team up with me."

Without a word, Hatsume followed him to where Ojiro and one of the Class B kids were standing.

"...what the hell?!" Izuku freaked, "Why did she just leave us like that?!"

Uraraka shrugged, secretly glad to be rid of Hatsume, "Who knows? But what should we do now?"

Right on time, Izuku felt a tugging at his shirt, "Midoriya, do you want to sparkle?"

"Aoyama? Do you need to team up?"

"...Oui." The blonde seemed less than enthused about his lack of options.

 _Well at least he and I are friends, but his Quirk complicates things...But maybe we can fix that..._

Izuku spotted one person hanging around alone and grinned. _Perfect!_ "Hey, team up with us."

* * *

"Time's up! Pick up your headbands and get into formation! 15 minutes on the clock!"

 _10,000,320 points between the four of us. If we play this right...If we can defend the entire game, we win!_ "Uraraka, make us float, right?"

She nodded from the right, "Yes!"

"Aoyama, use your Navel Laser to protect our front."

"Oui, monsieur!"

"Tokoyami, you and Dark Shadow cover our blind spots."

The bird man and his shadowy avatar nodded, "Understood."

Izuku tied the band around his forehead, "Then I'll guard the points and keep track of everyone else." _It's not ideal, but this is pretty damn good!_

"START!"

* * *

 **If you wonder why Mei's on Shinso's team, it's because in the manga, I remember him commenting on how she grappled up the second obstacle. And I thought it'd be a good way to change things around in the cavalry battle.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Not sure if I'll get the next one done before I leave for my mission trip (Saturday to next Saturday) but I'll try!**

 **If not, see you in roughly two weeks!**


	11. The Cavalry Battle

_Chapter 11: The Cavalry Battle_

* * *

Izuku wasn't stupid.

He knew that being in first place in the Obstacle Course and the bearer of ten million points made him everyone's target.

He knew that performing towards the top of the class consistently, no matter how many times it was due to coincidence/luck, made him Iida's target.

He knew that being All Might's somewhat-secret pupil made him Todoroki's target.

He knew that being born had somehow made him Bakugou's target.

But holy hell, did he not expect the stampede headed his way.

"Get the ten million!" The battle cry of 38 people washed over Team Midoriya as they apprehensively watched every other team charge them from all directions.

Luckily, the number of attackers didn't mean much in the way of the strategy, "Tokoyami, let's go up!"

"On it. Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami called his sentient Quirk, which promptly pushed the entire team up at great speed, thanks mostly to their lack of weight.

Izuku grinned as the group sailed over the awestruck crowd of first-years, "Wow! Uraraka, you're the best for making us float!"

Her perma-blush deepened, "I-it's nothing, ya know?"

From the ground, a topless Hagakure groaned, "Man, no fair that they can fly! Jiro, get them!"

Sporting a furious blush at her rider's state of dress, the bob-cut rocker complied, "It's not like you're hiding the headband or anything by being naked..." She launched her jacks at the floating Team Midoriya.

Dark Shadow chirped, "Incoming!" Moving quickly, he knocked the jacks back and resumed circling around the slowly-descending team.

Midoriya grinned. _With Uraraka making everyone but her weightless, Tokoyami and Dark Shadow keeping up our sides and rear, and Aoyama giving us offense and defense in the front, we have a fairly solid formation!_

"Tsk, dammit!" Jiro cursed as she retracted her jacks.

Hagakure reassured, "Don't worry! We'll get them next time!"

"...Hagakure...where's the headband?" Sato tentatively asked, dread filling his mind.

From behind, Monoma chuckled as he twirled a headband around his finger, "These Class A kids really need to get better at multitasking."

"AND JUST TWO MINUTES FROM THE START, THE FIELD IS COMPLETE CHAOS!" Present Mic shouted, fists shaking in excitement.

Landing with a soft thud, Team Midoriya quickly made haste away from the chaotic crowd of students.

 _Hopefully everyone else'll distract each other for a little while longer. Then we can-_

An object sailed right past Izuku's face, disrupting his concentration. "What the he-"

Shoji was charging the team, his arms wrapped around his back like a protective barrier. From a small opening, Midoriya could barely make out two figures. _Who...is that even allowed?_

"Miiidoriyaaaaaaa!" The frighteningly decent signing voice of UA's resident grapist filled the air, "I'm coming for youuuuuu!" A torrent of purple balls sailed towards Team Midoriya.

Acting quickly, Dark Shadow smacked them aside as fast as he could, using his noncorporeal form to avoid the adhesive effects.

However, a famously-long tongue darted out, nearly seizing the headband off of Midoriya's head if not for a well-timed, "Sharingan!"

Izuku ducked under the tongue and grabbed it. _Oh this is disgusting. Sorry Asui..._ He pulled on the tongue, earning a yelp from behind Shoji's barricade, "No coo Midoiya, ibbi."

 _Huh...guess she's gonna have a bit of a lisp for a while._ Sweatdropping while wiping his hands on his pants, Midoriya ordered, "Aoyama, can you fire at the ground a bunch? If we make lots of potholes around us, it'll make it difficult for everyone to get close." _Even if you share the rider's weight, the carrying formation's hardly comfortable, especially on rough ground where weight distribution is everything. It's not much, but it'll at least buy us some time against everyone else._

The pseudo-Frenchman twinkled, "Oui! I'll try not to outshine you three." Aoyama fired several short bursts of his Navel Laser at the ground, Uraraka helpfully pivoting for him as the group's center of mass. After only a few moments, the ground was littered with potholes and foot gaps for a thirty-foot radius all around the team.

Tokoyami mused, "Hm. I see the point of this strategy, but how effective would it be against someone with greater-"

"DEKU!" Bakugou roared as he blasted over the obstacle and straight for Izuku's head.

"-mobility." Tokoyami sweatdropped as Dark Shadow rocketed forth like a shield, just in time to block one of Bakugou's explosions, albeit with a shriek.

"Tsk, dammit, Bakugou! What did I say about blasting off like that?" Sero commented irritated as he used his Tape to pull the ashy-blonde back onto his, Mina, and Kirishima's interlocked arms.

The redhead huffed, "Man, at least give us a heads up when you pull that kinda stuff!"

Midoriya sighed with relief, "Man, that was too close." _That's the downside of this strategy: we can keep everyone at bay and stop them from sneaking up on us, but that means that we have to stay in this one spot! Man, I really wish we had more in the way of mobility!_

Uraraka nodded, "Plus, I think that explosion scared Dark Shadow." She nudged her head towards the cowering spirit, currently muttering scripture in Sanskrit to ward off evil.

"Sorry, but Dark Shadow doesn't do well against bright lights, remember? That's why you asked us to keep away from Aoyama and his Quirk as well." Tokoyami reminded with a grave tone.

"I remember." Izuku reassured, wiping some sweat from his brow. _Looks like most of the other groups are staying away from us now that we have the field trap set up. It's almost halfway through at this point...we can do this!_

* * *

"AND THAT'S SEVEN MINUTES! LET'S LOOK AT THE STANDINGS!

1\. Team Midoriya (10,000,320)

2\. Team Monoma (1,355)

3\. Team Tetsutetsu (1,015)

4\. Team Todoroki...

"HUH?! WHERE DID TEAM MONOMA COME FROM?!"

* * *

Bakugou clenched his fists in rage as the Class B blonde boy quickly seized his headband.

"Really, Class A. It's almost too easy." Monoma waved condescendingly to the stunned Team Bakugou as he turned to face Team Midoriya, "I know I said we should keep a low profile, but...Tsuburaba, create some platforms, will ya? Let's get the ten million."

Kaibara looked up in surprise, "Eh? You sure Monoma? It was your idea for Class B to stick to the sideline, I mean."

The blonde shrugged, "I mean, why should Class A hog the spotlight when they're leaving themselves all open like that?"

With little reason to disagree, Team Monoma charged forward, Tsuburaba creating a path over the potholes with a few quick puffs of Solid Air.

Bakugou, meanwhile, was seething in rage. _First, they take my headband...then they go after_ _my_ _kill?!_ "FUCK THAT! KIRISHIMA, LET'S KILL 'EM!"

"Midoriya, on our left!" Tokoyami called in a panic.

The greenette blanched at the sight of his newly-crowned 'Least Favorite Blonde' and his posse. _I can't see what they're walking on...even with the Sharingan! But right before they take a step, that guy in front with the brown hair exhales in at the ground. I'd say he has some sort of propulsion Quirk but considering that their feet looks like it lands on something, I'd guess that his Quirk can create platforms out of thin air. That means that wherever he can aim his breath, he can defend. But it also means that he's limited based on how fast he can exhale._

Midoriya waited for the front horse to exhale and ordered, "Aoyama, fire straight ahead!"

"Oui!" Aoyama quickly launched a beam right as Tsuburaba created another platform over the potholes. For a moment, it looked like Team Monoma would have to avoid the attack and lose their momentum.

Unfortunately, the Navel Laser collided with something in the middle of the air and dissipated.

"W-what?" Izuku started sweating. _I timed Aoyama's attack perfectly! I even used the Sharingan for it. There's no way he could've created an air shield while he was focused on the ground._

"Yeesh, Tsuburaba. Looks like Midoriya's got some good timing." Monoma whistled as he cracked his neck.

The brunette sighed in relief, "Good looking out, Monoma."

"Huh? Monoma did that? What's his Quirk?" Uraraka asked, "Deku, did you see what he did?"

Izuku nodded, "It was kinda fuzzy, but I think I saw him-"

"OI, FUCKFACE!" Bakugou roared as his team jumped over the stage traps, "DEKU'S MINE! AND SO'S THAT HEADBAND!"

Monoma sighed as the other blonde approached with an explosion at the ready, "Man, Class A's just so predictable." At the last second, he deflected the blow and almost immediately countered with an explosion.

"Oh, that feels fun! That's a nice Quirk, Bakugou." Monoma rubbed his hands with a cocky grin.

"What?! He has the same Quirk as you, Bakugou?" Mina exclaimed as her team pulled back after that last attack.

Uraraka cocked her head, "But how does that make sense?

Izuku clenched his fists, "That guy...the way he blocked Aoyama...how he countered Kacchan..."

"BASTARD!" Bakugou roared as he fired another explosion straight ahead. This time, however, it collided with something in the air and made a distinct shattering sound.

 _Again with the solid air!_

"He's a copycat." Bakugou growled, angry realization dawning on him.

"A Quirk that lets you copy other Quirks. Sounds problematic. Midoriya, I think we should retreat." Tokoyami advised, also eyeing another team that seemed dangerously focused on his own.

Izuku nodded, "Sounds good. Uraraka, can you keep up your Quirk?"

She flashed a grin, "Yes sir!"

"Then let's get outta here." The Team barely made it out of their own trap - courtesy of Dark Shadow - before they came face to face with another enemy.

Todoroki's heterochromic eyes narrowed, "Going somewhere, Midoriya?"

* * *

Bakugou growled as one of the Class B students launched some kind of cement-like substance at Kirishima's legs, trapping the entire team.

"Oh hey, Bondo. How's it going?" Monoma waved to the man with a sand castle for a head.

"Monoma, with all those headbands, you'll move on for sure. Let some of us have a go."

The blonde shrugged, "Sure, why not. Though you're not gonna get anything from this one." He jerked a thumb towards Team Bakugou, "I already cleaned them out."

Mina exclaimed, "Okay, I melted through it!"

Kirishima rolled his leg appreciatively, "Thanks, Mina. Bakugou, what's the move?"

Bakugou cracked his knuckles, "I ain't gonna lose to this jackass! I still gotta kill Deku and that half-and-half bastard! Racoon Eyes, lay down some slime in front of us, why don't ya? And weird-face, use that tape to pull us towards those Class B bastards."

The pinkette growled as she started spraying some mild acid, "My name's Mina Ashido!"

"And mine's Hanta Sero!"

"WHATEVER!"

Monoma looked towards Team Bakugou, currently sliding straight for him, "Oh, looks like the celebrity's coming for blood. Funny though; I thought after last year, you'd be sick of slime."

"...Oh, I'm gonna enjoy this." Bakugou growled, "Kirishima, head smash through whatever walls they put up!"

The redhead grinned toothily, "Got it!" He hardened his upper body in preparation for a collision.

"I'm gonna leave this to you, Monoma." Bondo said nervously as he backed away from the murderous (Team) Bakugou.

Monoma exhaled, "Man, I really didn't wanna put up with you for this long, but..." He fired several explosions in his opponents' path, "...I won't deny how much fun this is."

However, Team Bakugou pulled through the smoke, much to his surprise, "YOU CALL THAT AN EXPLOSION?! YOU'RE LIKE THE REST OF YOUR CLASS: JUST A SHITTIER VERSION OF THE REAL THING!"

"Tsk. Tsuburaba!" Monoma ordered as he and his classmate created two layers of Solid Air as defense, only for Kirishima to barrel straight through.

"Tape Face, on my mark!" Bakugou ordered as he swung at Monoma with an explosive haymaker.

At the last second, Monoma managed to graze Kirishima and instantly hardened, defending against the attack, "Whoops. Sorry to waste your-"

"DIE!" Bakugou roared as he brought both hands down over Monoma's head. But once again, the copycat hardened and blocked the attack with both arms.

"Seriously, you just never-"

"NOW LET'S KILL DEKU!" Bakugou ordered as he unstuck the headbands from Sero's tape while his horses charged for the current-winner.

"...what?" Tsuburaba deadpanned.

Monoma's jaw dropped. _While I was focused on Bakugou...while my hands were up...he had that one guy use his tape to grab the headbands from my neck?_

The Class B was silent for a while until Kuroiro commented, "Fuck you, Monoma."

* * *

Eri cocked her head when she saw Team Monoma's name get replaced by Team Bakugou on the scoreboard, "That one...Monoma..."

Inko looked at her daughter, "Oh, you met him already?"

The younger girl nodded, "Mmhmm. He had a weird voice and I don't think he liked Deku-nii very much."

"Oh." Inko commented in surprise, "Why not?"

Eri shrugged, "I don't know. But Baku-nii called him...an Aryan...something."

Inko paled as she felt a few onlookers stare at her and her daughter, "S-sweetie...let's not say that word in public, o-okay?"

* * *

 _This is bad! We're completely trapped now!_ Izuku wiped the sweat from his brow as Todoroki finished constructing a wall out of ice, effectively sealing the two teams in a small area by the field boundary.

Todoroki exhaled mist and rubbed his right arm, "Iida, get us in as fast as you can. Kaminari, keep Tokoyami at bay. Yaoyorozu, you distract Midoriya while I get the ten million." _I doubt this'll work on the first try but..._

Without hesitation, the three horses complied, Iida providing some much-needed speed through his Engines while Yaoyorozu and Kaminari relied on skates to minimize impeding the former's movements.

"Tsk, they're not waiting around! Aoyama!" Izuku commanded.

"Art of Seduction!" Aoyama grunted as a powerful beam shot through the air and collided right in front of Iida, forcing the speedster to skid to a halt and move to the side.

Iida grit his teeth, "Sorry, everyone. His Navel Laser's speed caught me off guard."

"Doesn't matter. Just keep trying." Todoroki narrowed his eyes. _As I thought. I can't defend against Aoyama without my ice, but that would get in Iida's way. The best thing to do is keep up the assault until he reaches his limit._

Midoriya's tomoe were spinning like a power drill, "Everyone, try to stay on Todoroki's left side." _I can't find any noticeable weak points on any of them! And the ice wall's so tall that even if we could push over with Dark Shadow's help, Kaminari would have plenty of time to zap us and take him out! We just have to defend with whatever limited mobility we have!_

"G-got it, Deku." Uraraka nodded, slightly panting.

"H-huh? Uraraka, are you okay?" Deku asked, noticing his teammates labored breathing.

She smiled, but it was clearly forced, "Doing great! Little winded s'all."

 _Liar. She and Aoyama's belt are the only things weighing us down so she's basically in charge of weighing us down and stopping us all from floating away. Of course this'd be difficult for her! And keeping her Quirk active continuously must also be really hard!_

"Uraraka, if you need to turn your Quirk off, go ahead. We only have three minutes left anyways."

She shook her head and flashed a determined grin, "Sorry Deku, but you and Iida...everyone's giving it their all. Like you said: I'm not gonna fall behind! I'm gonna shoot for the win with everything I've got!"

 _Dammit, that sounded way cooler coming from her!_ "Gotcha!" Izuku smiled back before turning his attention back to his opponents, whose attempted assaults kept getting thwarted by an increasingly-weary Aoyama.

Todoroki's eyes narrowed. _They're keeping to my left. Midoriya knows I'm not using it and since I can't fire my ice straight without hitting Iida in front, I'm sorely limited._

"Todoroki, you're trying to wear Aoyama down, yes?" Yaoyorozu asked as Iida steadied himself after yet-another failed attack.

"Hmm?" The dual-Quirk user cocked an eyebrow. _She catches on quick._

"We don't have time for attrition! We need to do something fast. How fast can you trap them in ice?" Yaoyorozu held up an arm as it began to glow.

Todoroki shook his head, "Doesn't matter. They're keeping to my left side so I can't-"

"I'm aware. Use this."

Izuku's eyes narrowed from afar. _What're they saying...I can't hear them, but I still know...how?_

She held out the object she created: a metal rod, "Just like how we trapped the other teams earlier. Channel your ice through the rod instead."

The stoic teen grasped the metal pole and nearly smiled, "Not bad at all." He turned towards his opponents and glared. _Midoriya...time to finish this!_ "Let's go."

Izuku's eyes widened. _The Sharingan...I can read lips! And they're gonna use that stick to avoid hitting Iida!_ "Aoyama, Tokoyami, I need you to destroy that rod in Todoroki's hand. They're gonna use it to trap us in ice."

Tokoyami looked at Izuku quizzically, "Huh? How do you know?"

"Trust me." The other two didn't seem too sure, but they complied with the request. Aoyama's beam missed its mark, but threw Team Todoroki's rhythm off, allowing Dark Shadow to swoop in and go for the rod.

Unfortunately, Kaminari was still on 'Tokoyami Duty' and held out a sparking hand to repel the shadowy being. Izuku cursed, "Dammit!"

 _Now!_ Todoroki jammed the rod into the ground and instantly froze much of the ground in front of them, sparing Iida while still enveloping Midoriya's left side in ice. _As long as he's stuck, they can't go anywhere!_

While Team Midoriya was startled by their sudden entrapment, Iida flexed his legs as hard as he could, recognizing the opportunity before him. "Recipro Burst!"

The flames from engine turned bright blue and, in a flash, Team Todoroki rocketed past Midoriya's, allowing Todoroki to quickly seize the headband.

* * *

"AND JUST LIKE THAT, TEAM TODOROKI TAKES FIRST PLACE! WHAT A DEVELOPMENT!" Present Mic cheered, his heart racing from sheer excitement.

Aizawa's eyes narrowed, "It looked like Iida suddenly shifted to a higher gear at the last second to take advantage of Team Midoriya's momentary surprise." _That was at a different level than anything I've seen, though. Does he have something greater than Third Gear?_

Meanwhile, All Might gripped his chair tightly as he saw Team Midoriya shift to sixth place with zero points. _Young Midoriya..._

Below the teacher's box, Inko was re-flooding the stands with her wails while Eri shifted uncomfortably, her heart sinking at her adoptive brother's shocked expression displayed on the stadium Jumbotron.

* * *

 _That...that was...I didn't even see that coming..._ Izuku shook as he turned to Team Todoroki with a ghastly look. _There've been a few times when the Sharingan couldn't keep up with someone but...it was like I didn't even see Iida move at all..._

Todoroki let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and slowly tied the ten million around his neck, carefully shuffling all his headbands and flipping them around just in case, "Iida...what was that at the end?"

Iida panted, "Sorry for the surprise but when I saw them trapped, I thought it best to take advantage of the situation. I used my special move to increase my speed to its limit. I'm just glad you were able to grab the headband in that split second."

Todoroki looked down and noticed Iida's smoking exhaust pipes and the slight redness to the metal. "Your Quirk...is it good to go?"

"Unfortunately, I'll be down for a few minutes or so. It might go faster if you cool my engines down, though."

 _Tsk. There's less than a minute left. No point in doing that. Might as well just play defense now. It's just Midoriya, anyways._

Izuku looked at his arm trapped in ice, then to his exhausted team. _Aoyama's about to collapse. Uraraka's gonna throw up at any second. Dark Shadow's crying about Buddhism. And there's only forty-five seconds left...This is it..._ He hung his head and tried to hold back the tears that stung his eyes.

"Come on, everyone! Let's get our points back!" Uraraka shouted.

"...Uraraka..." Izuku whispered.

"O-oui...I can't stop twinkling now...not after coming so far." _I should keep that phrase in mind..._

"Despite my preferences, it'd be a shame for us to give into darkness while we're so close."

Izuku tightened his right fist and exhaled deeply, "You guys...let's get our headband back!" With a grunt and growl, Izuku concentrated One For All into his trapped left arm and jerked it.

Todoroki could only watch as the ice seemed to glow like an emerald before it completely shattered, leaving only powdery snow and a slightly raw-looking arm smoking in its wake. _Midoriya...how did he do that?!_ "Yaoyorozu and Kaminari, keep them back however you can!"

"Everyone, let's go!" Izuku pounded his fists together and activated Full Cowl. Team Midoriya ran at full speed towards the handicapped Team Todoroki, their eyes practically blazing with determination - or stars, if your name is Yuga Aoyama.

 _Those guys...they're so determined...they can't possibly win but they're still gunning for it..._ Todoroki instinctively leaned back and hovered his hand over his headbands defensively.

Yaoyorozu prepared another staff and held it at the ready, "I'll take out their footing and throw them off. Uraraka and Aoyama are exhausted, so it shouldn't be too hard. Kaminari, keep Tokoyami away."

"Yayyyy." Kaminari rubbed the snot from his nose, his eyes twitching from Quirk overuse.

However, Izuku's eyes weren't spinning pointlessly. _They're gonna take out the horses. So I'll just take them out of the equation! Even if Todoroki shuffled the headbands, the Sharingan can keep track of which is which!_ "Let go of me!"

Without hesitation, the horses released their grip on Izuku, allowing him to jump off of their arms like a spring board, right for Todoroki. _I'm still under Uraraka's Quirk so I don't even need to worry about falling!_

Tokoyami hissed, "Did he have to jump at full strength?"

Aoyama groaned, "Now mon arms hurt with mon stomach."

"Go Deku!" Uraraka cheered, leading the remaining team to a safe spot away from the opposing team.

Todoroki's eyes widened as the greenette rocketed towards him. _No way..._ "Yaoyorozu!"

"On it!" She created a large paddle from her arm, only to get it knocked away by Dark Shadow's claws.

"I told you Todoroki! I'm gonna reach for the top spot with everything I've got!" Izuku shot past Todoroki's left side and wrapped his hand around all three headbands on his neck.

However, in that split second, flames enveloped the dual-Quirk user's left shoulder and arm. Yelping, Izuku released all three in surprise and crashed into the ice wall Todoroki made earlier.

"No!" Izuku cried as Iida ran away as fast as he could without his Quirk.

Todoroki could only stare at the flames on his body in shock, numb even to Yaoyorozu and Iida's words or Kaminari holding up the ten million points he retrieved with a 'Heyyyyy.'

 _My left side...My promise..._ He extinguished the fire and stared at Midoriya with venom. _Midoriya!_

Dark Shadow pulled the floating Izuku off of the wall and carried him to Team Todoroki at full speed, "Let's go again...but peacefully!"

Izuku nodded, remembering his own team's expressions of determination, "Yeah! We won't stop until it's over!" He felt a burning pain in his eyes. _Crap! Is this my time limit?! Doesn't matter; I have to push through!_

At that moment, the ice wall exploded, "DEKU! HALF-AND-HALF!" Bakugou rocketed forward, hands extended menacingly.

"Todoroki!" Izuku roared as his body crackled with the lightning of Full Cowl.

"TIME!"

The stadium fell silent, save for Bakugou's rather-loud THUD.

Then it erupted into cheers, "AND THAT'S THE END OF THE CAVALRY BATTLE! LET'S ANNOUNCE THE RESULTS!"

Izuku felt numb as Dark Shadow lowered him to the ground. _I...failed. I didn't get a single point in the end._

"IN FIRST PLACE...TEAM TODOROKI!"

Todoroki sighed and removed his headbands, seemingly dissatisfied with the result. _First place...does that even mean anything at this point? If I didn't use my left, Midoriya would've won._

"THEN IN SECOND, WE HAVE...HUH? TEAM...SHINSO?!"

The purple-haired Class C student smiled darkly while his teammates scratched their heads over the events of the last fifteen minutes or so.

Meanwhile, Team Tetsutetsu was too busy drowning in sorrow, despite Kendo's best efforts.

"H-hey, come on, guys! Chin up!"

Shiozaki groaned, "Is this karmic retribution for taking the short boy's points?" She recalled how she used a vine to slyly remove Mineta's headband.

"IN THIRD PLACE...TEAM Bakugou!"

Kirishima could only chuckle, "I don't know if Mr. 'Indisputable First Place' is necessarily happy about that."

"DAMMMITTTT!" Bakugou roared as he pounded the ground into dust.

"THEN IN FOURTH...TEAM MIDORIYA...with zero points...which is also the score of all the remaining teams...umm...we have a problem...ALRIGHT, I'M CALLING LUNCH WHILE MIDNIGHT AND I TRY TO FIX THIS MESS!"

Izuku felt like crying, but his teammates clapped his back. He stared at them with teary eyes, "Y-you guys...I'm really sorry. I thought I could grab them, but...I messed up."

Tokoyami sighed, "I won't lie I'm disappointed in the result, but we gave it our all." _Though if Todoroki hadn't flared up at the last second, Dark Shadow would've successfully grabbed at least one of the headbands._

"Yeah, we gave it our all and that's what matters!" Uraraka cheered, though the slight shaking in her fists belied her frustration. Even as they walked off the field, she felt her heart sink with each step.

"Uraraka, would you like to eat together?" Iida waved to her, "Also, well done on an exciting match!"

"Oh, thanks. You too! But man, I can't believe you could go that fast, Iida! I don't know what happened, you were so quick!" Uraraka yelled, rapidly waving her hands in her friend's direction

Adjusting his glasses, Iida replied, "Well I was saving it to use against Midoriya or Todoroki, so I figured the time was then. Maybe you'll see it again in the next round."

"Speaking of Midoriya, where'd Deku go?"

* * *

In a nearby hallway marked 'STAFF ONLY,' Todoroki stood opposite to Izuku.

Shaking, the greenette nervously broke the ice, "S-so...you wanted to talk? We're gonna miss-"

"You overwhelmed me today."

"...lunch."

Todoroki looked at his left hand and clenched it, "So much so, that I broke my promise."

 _Using his left side would basically double his strength. I definitely wouldn't have stood a chance last round if he did. So why doesn't he?_

"When you sailed past me and grabbed those points...I felt that same pressure I did when I saw you at USJ. And the only other time I've felt anything like that was around All Might."

... _Oh crap, he knows._

Todoroki looked at Izuku and narrowed his eyes, "Midoriya...I don't know why you're keeping this a secret, but..."

 _Oh god, no._

"You're All Might's-"

 _Here it comes..._

"-love child, right?"

"...eh?"

"It'd explain why your Quirks are the same. Save for the weird eyes."

"...you think that I'm All Might's illegitimate son?" Any momentary glee at the idea was quickly replaced with panic, "N-no, no! Of course he's not my dad!"

Todoroki turned his head and raised an eyebrow, "You sure? Then why's he so interested in you?"

"I-it's just cuz we have similar Quirks! Like Asui said on the bus a while ago! I mean, I know this is probably what I'd say if I actually was his illegitimate child butreallyI'mnotandit'sjustbecauseheandIbothhavestrengthQuirksandohmygodthisisn'tconvincingatall-"

"Whatever." Todoroki shook his head disbelievingly, but decided to change the subject, probably just to stop Midoriya from passing out, "You know, Endeavor's my...dad." There was a particular bite to that last word.

Izuku nodded, already familiar with this fact.

"The Number 2 Hero...Since you're connected to the Number 1 Hero, that's all the more incentive to demolish you."

* * *

Endeavor sneezed as he walked down the stairs. Rubbing his nose, he flashed back to the last two events of the festival and felt his blood boil for a reason besides his flames. _Shoto...this stunt of yours has gone on long enough._

He took a deep breath. _Calm down, Enji. Getting fired up right now won't do anyone any good._

" **Yo, Endeavor!** "

... _suffering is all I get in this world._ "...All Might." The Number 2 Hero turned to the Number 1 Hero, standing atop the stairs the former just descended. _Hmph. How symbolic._

" **It's been a long time! How about we get some tea and catch up? You could join us all in the teacher's box! How's that sound?** "

Endeavor snorted, "Seriously? As if I'd take time from my life to spend it with you and those washed-up cosplayers." He turned back to the rest of the stairs, only to be met with a large man in a blue suit accompanied by a whooshing sound.

" **Now why so serious?** "

"You know who said that quote, right?"

" **Psh. No reason to be so cold!** "

 _I hate everything about this man._

" **I actually wanted to talk about Young Todoroki! He was quite impressive for only using his right side! He's clearly well-trained!** "

Endeavor was silent, but his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

" **I actually wanted some tips on how to best train the next generation and since you've clearly done such a good job with your son, I-** "

"Save it. I'm not here to help you. I'm just here to watch him surpass you."

All Might didn't say anything, but he felt a bead of sweat run down his neck at the evident hostility on Endeavor's face.

"Sure he's being a brat right now, but he'll come around. And then he'll become the next Number 1 Hero! That's why he was born, after all."

* * *

"D-d-demolish?!" Izuku paled at the phrasing.

Todoroki continued unimpeded, "My dad's a bastard in every sense of the word. Once he realized he couldn't beat the Symbol of Peace, he decided he'd just have to make a hero that could."

"...Why are you telling me this?"

He sighed and looked down, his expression tightening like the words themselves were painful, "You know what a Quirk Marriage is?"

Izuku hesitantly nodded, recalling the term from a history class, "Y-yeah."

"My father found the perfect Quirk to match his and started a family with that woman...my mother. My siblings and I are all the result of my dad trying to get that perfect balance between their Quirks, just so we could fulfill his ambitions. I hate being a tool for him!"

Todoroki clenched his fists tightly, but took a second to calm down, "...You know...I can't remember a time when my mom wasn't crying."

Izuku sharply inhaled.

"After a while, I don't think she could distinguish between my left side and my dad. I guess it makes sense why she'd throw boiling water onto my face."

... _Holy shit._

"So that's why I can't use my left side...his Quirk. I have to reach the top using just my right side. Then, I'll have denied him everything."

Izuku was silent for a while so Todoroki just sighed and walked to the exit, "Sorry for dumping that on you. Just know that I'm not gonna make the same mistake again. I'll beat you with just my right side."

"...I've been helped my entire life."

Todoroki turned around with a curious look, "Huh?"

Izuku was looking straight at him, "I mean, I've only gotten here because I had help. And my motivation isn't much compared to yours but...if I don't win...I'm just wasting the efforts of everyone who's ever believed in me. So I can't lose. That's how I'll repay them!"

From a nearby hall, Bakugou's gaze widened at the revelation he just eavesdropped on. Todoroki's eyes seemed to narrow, but he quickly turned around and nodded.

* * *

After a delicious lunch courtesy of Lunch Rush, who is somehow an actual Pro Hero, and a brief moment of 'hilarity' involving Class A's females' costumes courtesy of Mineta and Kaminari, the first years gathered by the stage for an announcement by Midnight.

"I hope that everyone enjoyed their break, and we're about to get to the recreational activities, but let's talk about the final round before anything else!" Midnight twirled her flail playfully.

Izuku gulped. _Round Three's almost always a one-on-one competition between the top 16 competitors._ _But since only twelve people actually had a score...  
_

Midnight brandished her whip with a seductive hip swing, "The top three teams: Team Todoroki, Team Shinso, and Team Bakugou. The twelve of you are automatically in the next round! We'll hold the preliminary tournmaent to decide the next four now!"

The audience initially broke out into cheers before coming to a suddent stop once the last part of the announcement was processed, "WHAT?!"

A glimmer of hope lit in Midoriya's heart. _What did she say?_

Midnight licked her lips and smiled sensually, "I know this is different from our normal rules, but since all the other teams had zero points, we're going to let the two teams that were last to lose their points fight it out to claim a spot in the finals! The four winners from those teams will move on to the third round."

"...WHAT?!" Team Midoriya and Team Tetsutetsu exclaimed.

Midnight cracked her whip again and the screen changed to show timestamps next to each of the teams with zero points in descending order.

 **4\. Team Izuku: -0:50**

 **5: Team Tetsutetsu: -1:03**

 **6: Team Monoma: -1:06**

"While normally we wouldn't want to reward failure, we admitedly ran into a logistical error with only 12 finalists. Since these two teams lost their points in relatively similar timespans, we'll let them prove how deserving they are to be up here."

Tokoyami raised his hand, "But then why not just elevate the team to last lose their points instead?"

"Oi, shut it you bastard!" Tetsutetsu roared, held back only by Itsuka's ironically iron-clad grip.

Midnight smiled sadistically and the students felt the air grow colder, "Logistics aside, this is a school that brings out the best heroes possible. To that end, those of you who haven't quite lived up to our expectations just need to work that much harder to show that you're worthy to stand on this stage." With a nod, the R-Rated Hero switched to her normal persona like she hadn't just gone Full-Dominatrix on the first years, "Anywho, we'll get started right away and then give you all another break! The matchups are-"

"W-wait!"

Everyone turned to the source of the disruption: Ojiro, "I'd...like to drop out."

"...WHAT?!"

"Ojiro, what're you doing? You worked so hard for this!" Izuku protested, remembering the intense training they did together.

The martial artist just looked down with an angry face, "The Cavalry Battle...I don't remember it at all. It was his Quirk, I'd bet."

 _I guess he means Shinso. Come to think of it, he did convince Hatsume to join his team rather easily._

"I know how important the Sports Festival is and how dumb I must look to give up a chance like this, but...everyone's here because of their strength. So for me to stand on the same stage without even knowing how I got here...that just seems insulting."

Toru waved her pompoms frantically, "What're you talking about! If anything, this is your chance to show them what you can really do!"

Mina nodded, "And by your logic, then I don't even deserve to be here!"

Ojiro shook his head and covered his face, "It's not just that...I have to consider my honor."

The girls fell silent, but seemed to accept his decision.

"...also why do you look like cheerleaders?"

Interjecting, Shoda from Shinso's team added, "Umm...I think I'll withdraw, too. I don't remember anything either. And wouldn't someone who advanced without their own skill be against the rules anyways?"

Kirishima started to tear up, "Jesus, these guys are really freaking manly!"

"How...naïve..." The Pro Hero stared emotionlessly at the two withdrawals before cracking her whip, "I'm incredibly turned on!"

"...the fuck did she just say?" Bakugou's jaw dropped.

Midnight tapped her chin, "So in that case, we'll have a member from each team replace Shoda and Ojiro in the main tournament. So we only need three matches to decide the next round."

Now Tetsutetsu interjected, "Actually send two members from Team Midoriya. All of my team will fight."

"Hey!" Kendo grabbed his collar, "What're you doing?"

Awase facepalmed, "The fuck is your problem?"

"We technically ranked lower than them! I don't want any pretense either. Class 1B will prove we belong based on our skills, not some technicality!"

Midnight huffed, "Holy crap, I'm so ready to go. I'll allow it! Team Midoriya, choose two members to send forward!"

Uraraka was instantly at Izuku's side, much to his discomfort, "Deku, you should advance!"

Tokoyami appeared as well, "Indeed. It was your opening that allowed us to move on."

"While nobody sparkles more than I, Monsieur Midoriya was quite luminescent!"

"You guys..." Izuku shook his head, "I appreciate it, but no. Uraraka and Aoyama, you two had to use your Quirks to the point of exhaustion. And Kaminari nearly wiped out Dark Shadow. I didn't do anything until the end. Two of you should go."

The other three fell silent before Tokoyami sighed, "Dark Shadow and I didn't strain ourselves too much during the Cavalry Battle. You two move on. Midoriya and I will see you in the-"

"Uraraka and Tokoyami will move forward!" Aoyama exclaimed.

"Got it!" Midnight waved her whip to the shocked Team Midoriya.

"A-Aoyama...why?" Tokoyami sputtered.

The blonde just winked, "I couldn't allow you to shine brighter than I."

With a crack of her whip, Midnight called, "Then it's decided! The three matchups will-"

"Wait!"

"COME ON!" The audience practically screamed, wanting the tedium to end.

Monoma only grinned, "Why not give us a shot too? My team was only a few seconds shy of Team Tetsutetsu and if we send two members of our own, then you'll have a proper preliminary tournament bracket of 4 by 4."

The R-Rated Heroine sweatdropped, "What? No, that makes no sense at all! It'll be fine with just 3 matc-"

"My team consists of only handsome young men with very loose fitting clothing."

"APPROVED!" Midnight huffed, steam erupting from her ears.

"Midnight, I can't back that up." Aizawa muttered from the announcer's booth, "This is already contrived enough. Just do the-" His microphone cut out.

Present Mic cleared his throat, "AHEM, SORRY ABOUT THAT FOLKS! AIZAWA'S MIC HAD SOME STATIC ON IT SO I'M TAKING OVER FOR THE MANAGEMENT! I AGREE WITH MIDNIGHT COMPLETELY!"

"Umm...I guess then Monoma and I will go forward...mostly because the others are still mad at him..." Tsuburaba rubbed his head sheepishly.

Midnight smiled, "Then it's decided! Please turn your attention to the board for the preliminary matchups!"

The screen flashed for a moment before it produced a single-tier bracket of all eight competitors.

1\. _Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu_ vs _. Itsuka Kendo_

2\. _Yosetsu Awase_ vs _._ _Kosei Tsuburaba_

3\. _Yuga Aoyama_ vs. _Fumikage Tokoyami_

4\. _Izuku Midoriya_ vs. _Ibara Shiozaki_

* * *

 **Is the preliminary tournament dumb? Yes.**

 **Do I regret it? Immensely.**

 **Am I too far along to rectify it? Ohhhh yeah.  
**


	12. Power Flash

**I was working on this chapter but then 'Viridescent' suddenly updated again...so my productivity went out the fucking window.**

 **Moving on.**

 **Side Note: Y'all know some authors have CUSTOM cover images? How do they write AND draw?! Or do they pay someone for that stuff? IDK thought it was neat.**

 **Side Side Note: Do people even say 'neat' anymore? Or is it like 'wizard?'**

 **Side Side Side Note: Remember 'wizard?'**

* * *

 **Q/A:**

 **\- If you're upset that Recipro Burst (RB) was too fast for the Sharingan, nothing from 'Naruto' indicates that a two-tomoe Sharingan would be able to keep up with RB's speed. Like Haku wasn't moving too fast yet Sasuke could barely keep up with him and had to adjust for a LONG time to pull off any prediction (although the anime also portrayed Haku's speed inconsistently). But then, Lee wasn't moving very fast at all in his fight with Sasuke but completely trounced him. So that's my reasoning. But I'm sure some of you are about to comment that normal eyes would be able to see Iida, which is true if you were watching Iida AT A DISTANCE. Like, watching a Formula 1 car from a TV camera or bleachers is very different from watching one right next to you, especially if you had no idea it was coming (it's called Optical Flow, in case you're interested in biological phenomena (you should be; it's pretty wizard!)).**

* * *

 _Chapter 12: Power Flash_

* * *

Izuku sat in the grass with many of his classmates by the small battlefield Cementoss created. _I could've sworn the ones I saw on TV were a lot bigger and nicer than this one..._

He winced as he placed his hands on the rough grass, both of them still raw and a little bloodied from his 'Special Move' against the Zero Pointer and then against Todoroki's ice trap.

"Here." Yaoyorozu held out a small pile of bandages and some antiseptic.

"W-what? You made this for me?!" Izuku felt a stirring in his heart.

She giggled and shook her head, "I actually brought them with me. I figured something like this would happen, so I thought it best to be prepared."

"...I don't know if I should be touched or insulted." Midoriya deadpanned as he gratefully held his hands out to be bandaged.

Iida looked over, "Midoriya, are you alright? I didn't even notice your injuries!"

Kirishima popped over as well, "Oh, damn. At least it's not as bad as your hand after USJ. That was gross."

Izuku shuddered at the memory, "Yea...let's try not to do that again."

"WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LET'S GET INTO THE FIRST MATCH OF THE PRELIMARY TOURNAMENT!" Present Mic roared into the mic, a grin plastered across his lively face. "WITH A NAME AS REDUNDANT AS HIS ROLE IN THE PLOT: IT'S TETSUTETSU TETSUTETSU FROM 1B!"

The silvery student walked onto the stage with a tic mark on his forehead, "Redundant?!"

"SHE'S SMART, BEAUTIFUL, POWERFUL, AND WOEFULLY UNDERDEVELOPED RELATIVE TO HER POTENTIAL: ITSUKA KENDO ALSO FROM 1B!"

"...underdeveloped?" Kendo groaned as she walked to the position across from her classmate and opponent.

Midnight cleared her throat from her podium by the small stage, "Well the rules are simple: win by knocking your opponent off of the battlefield, rendering them immobile, or forcing them to concede. Of course, you can't kill them, but a little... _bruising..._ " Midnight licked her lips, "...never hurt anyone."

The audience collectively groaned, "That's literally all a bruise does _._ "

"And since this is just the preliminary tournament, we're also enforcing a time limit! After five minutes, we'll stop the battle and decide a winner ourselves. We need to keep things moving, after all."

Kendo exhaled before assuming a stance like a martial artist, her feet spaced out wide while she held her arms close to her torso, palms kept open.

Tetsutetsu simply cracked his knuckles and then his neck before preemptively hardening his skin, the metallic sheen gleaming in the summer sun.

Izuku prepared his pencil and notepad. _Hmm, she's a martial artist like Ojiro. Maybe I should trace some of her movements...although I have my own match a little after this and I already overused the Sharingan once today._

Midnight held up her whip, "And with that, begin!" She brought the whip down with a crack.

Immediately, Tetsutetsu charged forward, "Sorry, Kendo, but I can't stop here!" He raised a steeled fist and brought it down with enough force to powder concrete.

However, the female gracefully sidestepped the attack and delivered a short palm strike to Tetsutetsu's unguarded chest. But at the last second, her hand enlarged, eventually becoming larger than either combatant.

Tetsutetsu was sent flying back from the blow, only saved from a ring out by digging his steel fingers into the cement ground.

Kendo smirked, her hand shrinking back to normal size while gesturing at her friend: 'Come here.'

Izuku's eyes widened as he scribbled frantically in his notebook, "Wow! Her Quirk is so cool! I wonder if she can enlarge her entire body or just her hands! And can she vary the size or is it like Mount Lady's Quirk? Could she potentially increase her maximum size through training? Does enlargement actually increase her strength, or does it just increase the surface area through which a force is applied? And wouldn't a fist that size generate a lot of drag in the-"

"D-Deku?" Uraraka asked worriedly, sweat rolling down her face.

"Huh...oh." Izuku blushed as he realized many of the first years on the field were staring at him in a mix of fear and confusion.

Yaoyorozu peered over his shoulder, "Hmm? What's in the notebook?"

"It's just some notes on different Quirks I see. Kinda lame, I know." Izuku rubbed his head sheepishly.

"Oh wow, these are really detailed. And the drawings are pretty good, too!" Yaoyorozu mused as she flipped through the pages. "Is all of Class 1A in this?"

 _How did she take that without me noticing?_ "U-uh, most everyone. I don't think I have anything on Koda. And my info on Todoroki's pretty limited, too."

"Well I'm not sure if that's going to change." Kirishima nervously chuckled as he thought back to Todoroki's declaration of war earlier that day. He then looked at the notebook, currently open to Yaoyorozu's page, "Huh, you really got all the little details right. Nice shading work."

Mina popped over and instantly widened her eyes, her cheeks tinging purple, "Are they really that big? Go you, Yaoyorozu!"

Reflexively, Yaoyorozu shut the notebook and handed it back to Midoriya with a furious blush, "Just promise me that you'll never show that to Mineta."

"I-I mean, I won't but...I don't know if that'll stop him." A loud clanging sound brought them back to the fight.

"Hya!" Kendo exclaimed as she knocked Tetsutetsu into the air with her enlarged fist. _Yup, my knuckles are_ _definitely_ _bruised._

The metal man landed on the ground with a dull thud, cracking the cement with the impact. Slowly standing up, he shook his head free of his dizziness, "Damn, Kendo. For a girl, you're really freaking manly!"

Kirishima groaned from the side, "Dude, that's totally something I'd say! That's completely unmanly!"

Kendo just smiled exasperatedly, "Sorry Tetsutetsu, but I think I need to finish up. Time's short, remember?"

The Steel user grinned, "I was thinking the same thing!" He suddenly took off at full speed towards his foe.

"Come on. That's too easy." Kendo preemptively enlarged her hand, intending on smacking her friend out of the ring. But then he smashed his metallic arms together and grinded them against each other.

* _SKREET*_

The entire arena seized their ears at the horrendous screeching sound Tetsutetsu produced, including Kendo.

 _Just like I planned!_ Grinning, Tetsutetsu delivered a powerful right cross to Kendo's head, crumpling the female with one blow.

"Ugh, that sound...Kendo is immobile!" Midnight swung her flail down towards Kendo's unconscious form.

"AND THE FIRST PERSON TO MOVE ON TO THE MAIN TOURNAMENT IS TETSUTETSU TETSUTETSU!" Present Mic exclaimed to the victor's glee and the crowd's applause.

"YES!" Tetsutetsu alternated between wiping tears from his face and roaring triumphantly.

Kirishima huffed, "Damn. That was pretty manly."

"You need some new adjectives." Yaoyorozu muttered under her breath.

After the UA robots pulled Kendo away on a stretcher and Tetsutetsu followed out of concern, Present Mic called the next fight, "NOW FOR THE SECOND MATCH! ONCE AGAIN, IT'S A CLASS B BATTLE! FIRST UP IS 'HOW DID HE GET 10th PLACE ON THE ENTRANCE EXAM?' AKA YOSETSU AWASE!"

The headband-wearing man walked onto the stage while glaring at the commentator's box, "Fuck off."

"...LOVELY! THEN IT'S THE BUG-EYED BOY WONDER: KOSEI TSUBURABA!"

"Is that necessary?" Tsuburaba groaned as he took his position.

Midnight swung her flail, "Begin!"

Tsuburaba took a big breath and exhaled out the largest wall of Solid Air he could muster up, essentially splitting the field in two. _I'll just wait until time runs out. I trapped Awase, so they'll have to give me the win._

"You fucking serious?" Awase deadpanned as he pinched his nose bridge. "Whatever."

The taller boy casually walked to the 'wall' and slammed his hand against it. There was a slight glow and suddenly the skin of his palm appeared fused to the air's surface.

"WOAH!" Izuku's eyes bulged from his skull, "That's so cool!" He scribbled in his notebook so fast that the pages started smoking.

Awase then jumped in the air. When he landed, he pulled his welded arm towards his body. Coupled with the momentum of his fall, Awase generated enough force to pull the upper half of the near-invisible wall past the point of its elasticity, shattering it like glass.

"Tsk." Tsuburaba took a step back, deeply inhaling in preparation.

Awase cracked his knuckles and dashed forward, his fingers outstretched towards his classmate's torso.

Unfortunately for him, Tsuburaba made a small wall quickly, perfectly positioned for Awase to slam into it rather painfully. Seizing his bloodied nose, the latter stepped back to glare, "Sonuvabitch."

 _He's like a quieter Kacchan!_ Izuku observed with a bemused smile.

Not wasting any time, Tsuburaba leapt onto a solid air platform, then another and another, until he was well over Awase. He then sat down and relaxed. "Sorry Awase, but I'm fine waiting it out." _Something Monoma and I can agree on at least._

Awase just shook his head. He jumped with surprising height and managed to graze the bottom of Tsuburaba's perch. Instantly welding his right fingertips, Awase pulled himself up - ignoring the searing pain from his digits - and wrapped his left hand around his opponent's pant leg before he could make his escape. He then released his right hand, using the standing brunette as his anchor in the air.

Panic filled Tsuburaba's eyes while mirth filled Awase's. With a strong yank and a swing of his legs, Awase managed to pull his foe off of the platform. Deactivating his Weld, Awase landed in a squat while Tsuburaba fell at angle, ultimately landing painfully on his back on the grassy field.

"Tsuburaba is out-of-bounds!" Midnight proclaimed.

Present Mic's roar filled the air, "AND JUST LIKE THAT, WE HAVE OUR SECOND WINNER: YOSETSU AWASE!"

The dark-haired boy just nodded before turning to his dazed classmate, "What's the point of being here if you're not even gonna fucking try?"

Tsuburaba didn't respond but looked down disappointedly.

"You know, Awase's Quirk seems kinda weird, but he's really good with it." Mina noted.

"That or the other guy was just a complete pushover." Kirishima joked while scratching his head at the rather one-sided match.

"CAN WE HAVE THE THIRD MATCH'S PARTICIPANTS JOIN US? FIRST UP IS THE GUY WHO PROBABLY COULDN'T ACTUALLY POINT OUT FRANCE ON A MAP: IT'S YUGA AOYAMA!"

The blond boy strutted onto the stage and gave an admittedly smooth hair-flip, "Monsieur Mic forgot to mention how dazzling I am."

"He definitely didn't." Aizawa's monotone droll retorted through the speakers.

"NEXT IS THE GUY WHO ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE HE'D INVADE FRANCE: NEITO MONOMA!"

Whatever Monoma said as he walked onto the stage was drowned out by Bakugou's uproarious laughter.

The two stared each other down before Monoma flashed a cocky grin and made him way to the middle of the battlefield, "Isn't it customary to shake hands with your opponents before a fight?" He held out a hand as a gesture of good will.

Aoyama examined the other blonde suspiciously and then threw all of that out the window to reciprocate the gesture, "What manners. A shame I need to best you."

Monoma just smiled, although a malicious undertone made its way to the forefront. Bakugou just facepalmed, "The fruit basket's a fucking idiot."

Izuku paled slightly. _I don't think we can say that phrase anymore._

"Begin!"

Aoyama pulled his hands over his head and thrust his stomach out, "Art of Seduction!" A strong blue beam erupted from the crystal on his belt, aimed squarely for Monoma's chest.

With surprising grace and speed, Monoma side-stepped the laser before placing his hands over his head in a perfect mimicry of Aoyama's pose, "Hm. It's all over." He thrust his stomach forward.

Two things happened, one after the other: firstly, everyone realized that without the 'Sparkle Belt,' Navel Laser was significantly less effective, at least based on the shimmering blue, cloud-like emission that softly drifted out of Monoma's stomach as opposed to the concentrated beam from earlier.

"What the hell? Maybe I need to push it." Monoma mused as he tried to fire again, but this time with a mighty flex of his abs.

Secondly, Monoma realized the consequence of using Navel Laser for longer than one second, especially after lunch.

"...Oh...oh no." Monoma's face went bright red and he clutched his gut.

Aoyama just smirked knowingly, his eyes sparkling.

Realization dawned on Izuku. _Oh no...no way_.

Then came the smell.

"...I'd like to drop out." Monoma squeaked, still holding his stomach.

Midnight nodded furiously while tightly pinching her nose, "That's probably for the best."

"...Aoyama wins..." Present Mic muttered, his face aghast.

There were no cheers for the victory, but there was heavy laughter from a certain ashy blonde, "GOD FUCKING DAMMIT, THAT WAS AWESOME! I FUCKING LOVE THAT FRENCH FUCK!"

 _You're enjoying this a little too much, Kacchan._ Izuku sweatdropped before realization hit him.

"NOW FOR THE FINAL MATCH OF THE PRELIMINARY TOURNAMENT! BASED ON PAST PERFORMANCE, ANALYSTS HAD HIM AS THE PREDICTED WINNER OF THE TOURNAMENT UNTIL THEY SAW TODOROKI: IT'S CLASS A'S IZUKU MIDORIYA!"

Gulping, Izuku stood up from the grass and made his way onto the stage. He turned to his cheering friends and smiled, trying to mask his nerves. Then he turned to where his mother and Eri sat in the stands and gave another smile, earning a proud wail and tear-geyser in response.

"NEXT IS THE STONE-COLD ASSASSIN FROM CLASS B: IBARA SHIOZAKI! NOW LET'S HAVE A SUPER AWESOME BATTLE!" _Especially after that last one._

The other greenette walked onto the stage amidst cheers from her entire class - and many of the other first year classes - but turned to the announcer's box with an affronted gaze, "Excuse me, but what do you mean by 'assassin'?"

"...ummm..." Present Mic searched for a response, "S-sorry?"

Shiozaki spread her arms and closed her eyes like a biblical figure, "I have come here for victory, not to take my opponent's life. And I entered this school only to further myself and become a greater hero, not to cause harm." The sunlight shone down on her, bathing her in golden light.

 _Even God thinks this girl's an angel._ Midoriya sweatdropped.

"I-I SAID I WAS SORRY!" Present Mic asserted, scratching his cheek in embarrassment.

"Pst, Midoriya!"

Izuku turned to the side of the stadium and raised an eyebrow, "Huh? Kaminari?"

The sparking blonde's cheeks were tinged red, but he had his trademark cocky/dumb grin, "Dude, she's like, super cute! Put in a good word for me!"

"U-um...I'm about to fight her."

"Dude, come on." Kaminari whined, "I'll seriously owe you one!"

Midoriya scratched his head, "I mean, I'll try, but I don't know when I'll have the chance to."

Kaminari just flashed a thumbs-up, "Thanks bro! You're the best wingman I cou-GAH!"

A sudden jack to the eye interrupted the electricity-user. "Yeesh. Sorry about that, Midoriya. Can't let him out of your sight, you know?" Jiro joked as she dragged the unconscious teen away from the stage.

Sweatdropping, Izuku turned back to his opponent to find her already looking at him with a soft smile, "U-um...hi?" _She_ _is_ _cute! Her eyes are as big as Eri's!_

Shiozaki bowed slightly, "It's good to see you again, Midoriya. I trust you are doing well."

"O-oh, yeah, I'm great. Thanks again for earlier, by the way! No way I'd have gotten first if you hadn't saved me."

"Oh come on! You already know her?! Dick move, Midori-YAH!" Kaminari yelped as another jack entered another eye.

Midnight grinned, "Oh, it looks like you two are friends. Good! I love it when things get...personal."

 _This lady has issues._

* * *

All Might gulped. _Young Midoriya, this is your first_ _real_ _test today. But I have to admit...I'm pretty excited to see how you'll do!_

Below, in the stands, Inko was doing her best to not bawl before the match even started, "Oh, just look at those thorns! What if that girl has poison ivy?"

Eri leaned against her adoptive mother, "Deku-nii's gonna win, though, right?"

"Hmm?" Inko looked at the young girl before smiling confidently, "Of course! Our Izuku's a fighter!"

The young girl smiled back and turned back to the battlefield.

"...but what if he gets sporotrichosis?!"

* * *

"Start!" The whip cracked, signaling the two competitors to begin.

Izuku exhaled deeply, "Sharingan!" His Quirk activated with the characteristic ringing sound and he adopted a defensive stance he learned from Ojiro.

 _From what I can tell, her Quirk lets her control those vines on her head. She can make them grow too so she has long-range attacks. They're also look like they're covered in thorns, so I probably should avoid touching them at all._

Shiozaki clapped her hands and laced her fingers together. Immediately, the vines on her head elongating and crawled towards Izuku at significant speed.

But not that significant.

 _One For All..._ "Full Cowl!" Izuku's entire body took on a glow and green lightning crackled across him. He dashed away from the vines, his eyes trained on his thorny foe.

Izuku charged Shiozaki, his fist pulled back, only to feel a sudden pain in his leg; one of the vines he dodged earlier suddenly changed direction and wrapped itself around his ankle. _Dammit!_

The vine pulled Izuku up and whipped him into the ground painfully, knocking the wind out of him. "Oww." He rubbed his shoulder and glared at the thorny vine on his foot.

Then it started to grow, wrapping itself around his leg and then, presumably, his entire body. "Crap!" Izuku exclaimed as he frantically clawed at the plant. _Wait...just sever the point of origin!_

Quickly, Izuku found where the vine first wrapped around his leg and snapped it with Full Cowl's enhanced strength, ignoring the sharp pain from tightly gripping thorns.

He let out a breath of relief before standing back up, only to fall down again due to a sharp pain in his leg. _The vines...they're still growing?!_

Shiozaki's hands were clasped together and her eyes were closed, but she had a slight, yet confident, smile.

 _She can control her vines remotely, huh?_ With renewed fervor, Izuku ripped at the plants over his legs, hissing as the surprisingly sharp barbs shredded his skin.

Then there was a bleeding pain in his shoulder and Izuku was dragged to the ground forcefully by a second vine. _Dammit! If she wraps me up completely, I'm out of the festival! Come on! Think. Think!_

* * *

All Might chewed through his fingernails like a chain saw, sweat thoroughly dripping down his forehead. The commentary wasn't helping either.

"WOW! MIDORIYA'S COMPLETELY OVERWHELMED BY SHIOZAKI'S QUIRK! DOES HE EVEN STAND A CHANCE?"

Aizawa's shrug was practically audible from his tone, "Midoriya has a bad habit of getting caught up in the moment. And even when he can execute a plan, it'll probably end with him getting injured."

 _Such faith..._ All Might rubbed his hands together nervously.

"...but..." The stadium turned to the mummified Erasure hero, especially the other Pro Heroes who had never heard that word come from their colleague, "...he's not a complete idiot."

 _That's it?!_ Basically everyone in the stadium sweatdropped at the half-assed praise.

Everyone except Present Mic, who covered up his microphone to look at his longtime friend with tears, "Wow, that was really touching!"

Aizawa just shook his head and groaned, "I'm surrounded by idiots." He looked down to the teachers' box and locked eyes with All Might, who nervously looked away with a whistle - not that Aizawa could hear it. _Yeah, that pretty much confirms it._

* * *

Izuku was too stressed and focused to listen to the commentary or the crowd. _There has to be something I'm missing! I can't predict where she's gonna move the vines since she does it without moving so the Sharingan can't help...me...wait._

Despite being mostly covered in thorns, Izuku grinned widely. He pulled his left pinky back with his thumb and charged it with One For All until the red veins and green lightning made the digit shine.

 _Just aim and..._ "Delaware Smash!" Izuku flicked his pinky, bursting open the bandage around the finger and releasing a powerful jet of air right to his opponent.

Shiozaki's eyes shot open once Izuku began to speak and she instinctively formed a barrier of vines before her. Unfortunately for her, the air bullet broke through the shield and still knocked her onto her back, albeit not very far.

But when she stood up, she had a very happy greenette looking at her. He pointed to the vines that used to trap him now thrown well out of bounds, "Sorry, but I don't think you can use those anymore." _Just like I thought: when she loses focus or moves, her control goes out the window. I wish the Delaware Smash did more, but I guess I should just be happy it knocked her down._

Shiozaki dusted herself off and smiled confidently, "That was very impressive, Midoriya. But it looks like it came at a cost." She pointed to his red, swollen finger.

He cupped his hand protectively and got into a defensive stance. _Once her vines are out of my line of sight, I have no way of tracking them, even with the Sharingan. I have to keep them in front of me_ _or_ _destroy them._

She cupped her hands again, causing her hair to lengthen, but now bury itself into the ground rather than go over it.

 _She's trying to hide the vines from me. But those vines are technically alive so with the Sharingan..._ Izuku looked at the ground and saw several snake-like objects quickly burrowing through the concrete. He smirked and pulled his arms up, right as the vines were beneath him, "Miami Smash!"

Izuku brought his forearms down onto the ground in a dual-hammer fist with such force that the ground shattered. Shiozaki hissed as her vines' path was cut off and she separated them.

 _This is it!_ Izuku charged at Shiozaki. _She always takes a moment to recover after an attack. So this is when I have to strike!_ While she was stunned at first, Shiozaki quickly regained her bearings and clapped her hands once more while turning around.

A meter-thick wall of vines formed all around her, the thorns pointed outwards menacingly. _As expected, Midoriya has quite a bit of stamina. So I need to inflict as much damage as I can, wherever I can. And getting through something this thick and all-encompassing won't be as simple as punching right through it._

Izuku eyed the slightly-overkill shield and grinned. _This is the perfect time to show off my training to All Might._ He skid to a stop and knelt down, his left hand clutching his right wrist. His Sharingan started spinning so fast, it almost stung.

 _I can only use_ _this_ _for an instant, so I need to use the Sharingan to verify her position...inside her shield...predict where she's going to be..._ _still_ _inside her shield...and estimate the optimal point of attack...dead center._

He took a deep breath and focused One For All into the outermost part of his right palm. His hand started to glow with green lightning that arced across the ground, causing small soot spots to form while the bandage Yaoyorozu wrapped earlier disintegrated. A sound like several eagle's crying as they divebombed filled the air, a detail that filled a certain Pro Hero with the urge to salute the Stars and Stripes.

The crowed started murmuring to themselves and he even heard some of his friends whispering, but he couldn't afford to lose concentration. _Just like I practiced with Yaoyorozu...breathe._

Then it was ready.

Concentrating Full Cowl in his legs, Izuku pulled back his arm, causing the cement to shatter beneath his crackling hand. And he took off, appearing like a lightning bolt more so than a human.

"Take this: Chidori!"

Izuku thrust his right hand into the brambles, which crumpled before his attack. Then, there was a crack like thunder and Shiozaki's shield blew apart, sending up a cloud of smoke and dust.

* * *

"What...the fuck?" Bakugou hissed, his eyes wide at the last attack.

Uraraka and Iida nodded in agreement, their jaws fallen through the floor.

Even Todoroki seemed taken aback with surprise at the destructive force behind that last attack.

"I don't know what that was...but it was manly as hell." Kirishima nodded resolutely.

"It was the other move Midoriya prepared for the Sports Festival. I actually helped him with this one." Yaoyorozu professed proudly.

"Really? So how does he do it?" Mina asked.

"...I...uh..."

"He never told you, did he?"

"...u-um..."

Present Mic interrupted the conversation, "THE DUST CLOUD'S FINALLY CLEARING! AND IT LOOKS LIKE...WOAH!"

Midnight cracked her whip down at Shiozaki's prone body laying outside the ring, "Shiozaki is unconscious!"

She raised her whip towards Midoriya, who was holding his raw hand gingerly, but proudly, if the massive grin across his face was any indication, "Midoriya wins!"

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause as Present Mic screamed, "LOOK AT THAT! MIDORIYA JUST LAID DOWN SOME CAGE-FREE, GRADE A, NON-GMO, ORGANIC, GLUTEN-FREE ASS KICKING!"

"Mic, there are kids watching."

"I KNOW WHAT I SAID! ANYWAYS, WITH THAT, WE HAVE ALL THE PEOPLE MOVING ONTO THE NEXT ROUND SO LET'S BRING OUT THE JUMBOTRON AND SEE WHAT THE BRACKET'S GONNA BE!"

The big screen lit up while the robots pulled Shiozaki onto a stretcher and took her to the pop-up clinic. The sixteen participants names appeared on the screen before they started shuffling around.

Izuku, in the meantime, got off the stage and approached his friends. "Deku, that was awesome!" Uraraka high-fived him, much to his discomfort. _Ignore the lack of skin on your hand like a man!_

A slap on the back broke him out of his thoughts, "Dude, nice work. You had us worried for a second!"

 _Speaking of being a man..._ "Thanks, Kirishima."

"Seriously, Midoriya, that was impressive. Your 'Chidori' looked even stronger than before." Yaoyorozu complimented.

 _I don't think that's possible..._ "Well I couldn't have gotten it down if you hadn't made all those skeets for me to practice against."

Izuku looked to Bakugou, who just grunted and turned away, then to Todoroki, who returned the stare with uncomfortable intensity.

Luckily, Present Mic offered reprieve, "IT'S DONE! HERE ARE THE MATCH-UPS FOR THE THIRD AND FINAL ROUND OF THE FIRST YEAR STAGE OF THE SPORTS FESTIVAL!"

 **Block A**

 _Izuku Midoriya_ vs. _Denki Kaminari_

 _Yosetsu Awase_ vs. _Hanta Sero_

 _Katsuki Bakugou_ vs. _Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu_

 _Ochako Uraraka_ vs. _Ejiro Kirishima_

 **Block B**

 _Momo Yaoyorozu_ vs. _Mei Hatsume_

 _Fumikage Tokoyami_ vs. _Hitoshi Shinso_

 _Shoto Todoroki_ vs. _Mina Ashido_

 _Tenya Iida_ vs. _Yuga Aoyama_

Izuku looked at the bracket and gulped. _Kacchan's in my block. If I want to get into the finals, I might have to go through him. And Todoroki's in the other block. There's a good chance he'll be the winner of his division. Although..._

He took a good look at his friends' faces and their determined expressions. _It might not be as easy as that._

* * *

"Mmmmmuah!" Recovery Girl's lips retracted from Izuku's hands as they glowed in a soft green light, "Honestly, I don't know what you consider progress, but blowing the skin off both of your hands and breaking a finger in the course of a couple hours is not what I had in mind!

Izuku laughed sheepishly - and a bit nervously - as she wrapped both hands in some fresh bandages, "Sorry."

She shook her head and sighed, "I guess it's to be expected given your mentor but try to be careful. At least for today, if nothing else. My Quirk drains stamina, remember?"

He nodded solemnly and laid back in the bed. _She's right. The more injuries I get, the more healing I'll need and the more my stamina'll drain. So I should probably relax as much as I can-_

"IZUUUUUU!" The door to the clinic shot open and the stout Midoriya matriarch stormed in, followed closely by an equally concerned Eri.

Chuckling sheepishly at Recovery Girl's annoyed look at the outburst, Izuku smiled at his family, "Hi Mom."

She rushed to his bedside, "Are you hurt? Are you in pain? Do you need some juice?!"

"U-uh, I'm okay. Really! Just resting a bit. How're you doing?"

She waved his question away, "Don't change the subject, young man! I thought I told you to be more careful. Honestly, of all the things to inherit from your father, you get his recklessness."

"M-mom!" Izuku whined, only to turn his attention once he noticed a small pair of hands tightly gripping the edge of his bed. Laughing at the sight of Eri trying to climb onto it with him, he pulled her up and sat her in his lap, "How're you doing? Having fun?" He bopped her nose, earning a giggle.

"Yeah! It's all BOOM and WOOSH!" She waved her hands around energetically.

Izuku nodded excitedly, "I know, right! And the BAM and the ZOOM!"

"Yeah!" Eri shook with glee.

Inko and Recovery Girl sweatdropped. _Is this even human language anymore?_

The doctor cleared her throat, "Sorry, but I'm afraid I need you two to leave. I still have other patients considering some people decided a ring-out wasn't a good enough way to win." She shot a glare to the male greenette, earning a yelp.

Inko nodded with a bow, "Of course, Miss Recovery Girl. Sorry for the intrusion. Good luck with the rest, Izuku! We'll be watching."

Eri wrapped her arms around her savior, "Bye Deku-nii!" She then jumped off the bed, took her mother's hand and left the room.

Izuku smiled and laid back down.

"They seem nice."

He shot up and turned to the other side of the clinic. Shiozaki smiled at him while laying down herself.

"O-oh! Um...hi." Izuku waved awkwardly, unsure of how to interact with the person he just blew up.

She giggled, "How're you feeling?"

"Um, I'm good. H-how're you?"

"I'd be remiss if I didn't say that I've been better, but I'll be fine. That was quite the move you displayed at the climax of our battle."

He scratched his head, "Yeah...sorry about that. I didn't really expect it to...blow up...like that."

Shiozaki smiled warmly, "It's fine. We were opponents after all. Whatever it takes to seek victory, right?"

"R-right." Izuku fell back onto his bed for an awkward moment before popping up, "Hey...why did you save me earlier? On the obstacle course."

"Hmm?" Shiozaki raised an eyebrow before looking up thoughtfully, "I suppose it's because it seemed like the right thing to do. And we weren't opponents at the time. Not directly, at least."

He nodded and laid back.

"You seem unsatisfied."

Izuku snorted, "Sorry, it's just that...on the entrance exam and at USJ and now here...I feel like I keep getting by off of dumb luck or everyone else. I just wonder if I really deserve to be up here, you know?"

Shiozaki was taken aback, but responded softly, "Midoriya, I don't know why you would think that, but if you're so concerned with proving yourself, you just proved your abilities in our last match. But part of being a hero is being able to work with others, including furthering yourself with their help. It's something to celebrate more than chastise oneself over."

"Huh." Now it was Izuku's turn to look up thoughtfully. _Furthering myself...with other people's help._ He smiled slightly, "Thanks, Shiozaki. You give some really good pep talks."

Recovery Girl smiled. _At least he's getting along with others. You really picked a good one, Toshinori._ "Midoriya, shouldn't you be thinking about your next match?"

"Oh! You're right!" He hastily pulled his notebook out and flipped to Kaminari's entry with a trademark muttering storm.

"Thinking is a silent activity."

"R-right!"

* * *

 **Sorry that this took so long but I split the original chapter in two. I hope you enjoy this one regardless.**

 **Shout out to people who caught the DBZA reference.**


	13. Lightning Cutter

**900 followers?! The FUCK?! Thank you so much!**

 **Kudos to people who got the DBZA reference! (COUGH COUGH WOLFGANG8624 COUGH COUGH) You are my waifu now.**

 **In the Q/A, I've actually listed who asked the question at the beginning just in case you wanted to know that I acknowledged you. But I phrase them in a way that everyone can understand!**

 **Side Note:** **You know how some authors randomly insert Japanese words into their fanfics? Like not honorifics or anything (those are actually a fantastic way of demonstrating relationships between characters). I mean like how someone will just say "Ano" instead of "um" or "Arigato!" instead of "Thank you!" for no reason despite everything else being English. Like I know Fanfiction is the wrong place to expect standards but... come on. We all know you're a Weeb. Don't try to act like you're not.**

* * *

 **Q &A**

 **\- (Sandman001) Izuku didn't help Kaminari get with Ibara cuz he knows what's up. Jiro x Kaminari FOR LYFE. Also, he's a shit wingman.**

 **\- (UchihaNaruto247) In the manga, it said that Sasuke couldn't keep up with Lee's movements, but the anime (or at least the clip I watched) didn't mention it so that's why I argued that Sasuke couldn't track Lee. I'll take the L on that point because the manga is definitely better. But I'm still adamant that Recipro is too fast for an immature Sharingan.**

 **\- (charger2040) The idea of absorbing energy to power One For All is interesting, but I don't think there's a way for Izuku to absorb energy. I know he can stockpile energy but to add external energy to it, he'd probably need another Quirk (somebody could write a story where Izuku is born with an ability to absorb energy or something. That'd be cool.)**

* * *

 _Chapter 13: Lightning Cutter_

* * *

"THE FIRST MATCH WILL START IN FIFTEEN MINUTES! CAN WE GET THE FIRST ROUND OF PARTICIPANTS DOWN TO THE WAITING ROOMS?"

Kaminari cracked his knuckles as he stood up from the Class A section in the stadium seating, "Well, I'm off. Wish me luck, everyone!"

"Good luck, Kaminari!" Iida bowed with a polite smile.

"Do your best!" Yaoyorozu politely encouraged.

Kirishima grinned and flashed a thumbs-up, "You got this, bro!"

The electric-user smiled, his cheeks tinged red from the praise, "Aww thanks, you guys!" He rounded the corner and left, a noticeable pep in his step.

Jiro waited until his footsteps grew silent before muttering, "So who wants to put up some cash?"

Iida jumped up and slammed an affronted hand over his equally-affronted heart, "Jiro! Betting on our peers is unbecoming of a UA student!"

"Lighten up, Road Runner. We need something to entertain the rest of us that aren't in the tournament."

"Still, Jiro, it seems a little rude to bet on our friends like this." Yaoyorozu added.

Tokoyami interjected, "I'll put 2000 yen on Midoriya."

"T-Tokoyami?!" Iida's jaw dropped as the bird man handed several bills to Jiro.

He just shrugged, "I'm in need of funds." _Buster Sword replica...you_ _will_ _be mine!_

Shoji shook his head, "Honestly, we shouldn't condone materialism at the expense of our friends."

Iida smiled and clapped his friend on his extremely large shoulders, "Yes! Thank you, Shoji."

"Which is why I'll be donating all my winnings to charity. 1000 yen on Midoriya."

"HOW COULD YOU?" Iida waved his arms frantically while Jiro cackled.

Bakugou growled, "SHUT THE HELL UP!" He threw a ball of bills right down to Kyoka, knocking her on the head.

"Ow! What the hell, man?" She rubbed her head while glaring at the blonde.

"10,000 on Pichu."

Mina's eyes widened, "Wow, even Bakugou's getting in on it."

Uraraka quietly handed the petite musician a single bill and whispered as quietly as she could, "For Deku."

But it wasn't quite quiet enough, "ET TU, URARAKA?!" Jiro was thoroughly howling now as Iida fumed, waving his arms faster than even his brother probably could.

Mineta jumped up with a sizeable wad of bills, "My entire life savings on Kaminari!"

Asui cocked her head, "Really? Ribbit. I thought you and Midoriya were friends."

Mineta shook his head so hard that a few of his balls fell off, "No way! He's close to all the girls and not once did he be my wingman. He needs to die!"

"If only you had this kind of passion during gym class. Ribbit."

While Mineta sulked and Jiro counted out his surprisingly high bid, Kirishima dug through his pockets, "They're both pretty manly, but I'm gonna go with Kaminari. He and I sit together," Kirishima explained as he handed a 5000 yen note to Jiro.

"I'll put 2000 on the both of them, oui." Aoyama smiled as he handed four 1000 yen notes to Jiro.

 _Then why even bet?_ Most of the class sweatdropped.

Jiro whistled as she completed the pile, "Damn, maybe I should just sneak off with all this."

"Woah, are you guys betting?" The entire class turned to the wall to the left of their section and nearly jumped at the sight of Kendo from Class B smiling at them.

Iida perked up, "Finally, someone responsible! My fellow Class Representative, surely you can see the moral depravity-"

"I'll throw 3000 on Midoriya." Kendo held out her bet, earning roaring laughter from Jiro and a sharp gasp from Iida.

"Oh? Is Class A gambling? That's against the rules, right?!" Monoma popped up over the barrier with a manic grin, "Wow, so much for being the better class, right? Right?! RIGHT?! RIIII-gah!"

The blonde collapsed out of sight with one solid neck-chop from Kendo, "Sorry about him. He's a bit...insecure... after his fight."

"...5000 on the blonde..." Monoma groaned, feebly holding up a few bills to Kendo.

Jiro finished marking her totals and called, "Anyone else? Any last takers?"

Yaoyorozu sighed before handing over an amount of money so large, the author couldn't comprehend its scope, "I'll put my pocket money down."

"THIS IS YOUR 'POCKET MONEY?'" Jiro exclaimed, eyes bulging out of their sockets at the incomprehensible wealth on display.

The taller girl blushed but nodded, "Yes. I'll bet on Midoriya winning but injuring himself in the process."

Mina protested, "Aw, come on! You can't put a condition down."

"Well I never said anyone couldn't." Jiro shrugged, "I'll allow it."

"Then let us change our bets!"

"Sorry, no can do!"

Kirishima groaned, "Ugh, but Midoriya getting injured is like saying Bakugou'll commit a war crime."

"THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN, YOU UNICORN FUCK?!"

Yaoyorozu shook her head at the 'vulgarity' of her classmates' antics before turning to her friend curiously, "Jiro, are you going to bet on anyone?"

"Oh, I did. Trust me...I did." She said with a mischievous smirk.

* * *

Izuku leaned back and stretched, his arms extended well over his head. _Okay. I can do this. I can do this. It's just Kaminari. I've sparred with him before. I got my notes. I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm_ -

"Yo, Young Midoriya."

"Eek!" Izuku curled into a ball on the floor of the hall, startled by the sudden interruption of his inner monologue.

All Might sweatdropped, "You know, I really thought we were making progress on the whole 'jumpy' thing."

"C-cuz you surprised me!"

The older man waved his hand dismissively, "Semantics. Anyways, how're you feeling?"

Izuku shrugged, "Same as earlier. I mean, I did everything I could to prepare so..."

"Well you're doing fine from where I'm standing. And that thing you did with One For All...I could barely believe my eyes!" All Might clenched a fist proudly.

"Wait, Full Cowl or the Chidori?"

"Both!" The Symbol of Peace grinned excitedly, earning an embarrassed laugh from his pupil, "Seriously! I could barely believe my eyes when I saw you running down the Obstacle Course or when you defeated Young Shiozaki."

"Heh, thanks. I just hope they come in handy against everyone else in the tournament. There're a lot of people I don't have a good strategy against."

All Might shrugged, "Well, we'll just deal with that when it comes. And besides, you have bigger fish to fry right now. Young Kaminari's waiting and after all the work he put into practical training, I dare say he'd be quite the challenge."

"R-right. See you after the match!" Izuku waved as he exited the hall and stepped onto the field, only to immediately stop in his tracks, "H-holy-"

"SHIIIIIIIIT!" All Might hissed.

The relatively puny and drab concrete field from the preliminary tournament was gone, replaced by a massive tiered and, above-all, clean stage, with the UA logo emblazoned on either side. Cementoss stood to the side opposite Midnight, staring proudly at his creation.

"I dare say this is the best one yet. Even the third-year stage wasn't this good." He declared resolutely.

Present Mic's voice reverberated through the stadium, "ALL RIGHT! LET'S GET INTO THE FIRST MATCH-UP OF THE THIRD ROUND OF THE UA SPORTS FESTIVAL FIRST-YEAR STAGE! STARTING ON MY LEFT; THE MOST SHOCKING THING ABOUT THIS GUY IS THE FACT THAT HE MADE IT THIS FAR: CLASS A'S DENKI KAMINARI!"

The blonde ran onto the stage, blowing kisses and waving excitedly to the cheering crowd. He even winked and gestured 'Call me' to a few females in the audience, earning polite, if not uncomfortable, laughter.

Izuku sweatdropped. _I know he likes to look cool, but...that's a bit much._

"THEN ON MY RIGHT; THE ONLY THING MORE BROKEN THAN HIS QUIRK IS HIS BODY, CLASS A'S IZUKU MIDORIYA!"

The greenette walked calmly onto the stage but waved and smiled to his friends and family.

"Do your best, Deku!" Uraraka cried, barely reaching the stage floor.

"Both of you, fight well!" Yaoyorozu cheered.

"Don't fight! They're all betting on you! Don't condone their behavior!" Iida pleaded, his rapid arm swings unfortunately drowning out his message.

Kaminari chuckled, "Man, everyone's really pumped, huh?"

"Yeah. It's the first match after all. Expectations are bound to be high."

"Then let's give them a good show, right?" Kaminari stared his friend straight down the battlefield and grinned, "Ready when you are, Midoriya!"

Izuku returned the smile and stretched one last time, "Yeah, let's do this!"

Midnight watched their interaction from her stand and squealed, seizing her - ahem - assets in a provocative measure, "Oh these youths are getting me all hot and bothered! Start!"

"...how're we supposed to start after that?" Kaminari protested.

"Sharingan!" Izuku crouched and placed both hands on the ground, getting into a runner's position, "Full Cowl!" Green lightning arced across his body as his skin and eyes began to glow with a green tint while his irises took the familiar red glow of his Quirk.

 _I'd rather not use the Sharingan, but if I didn't have it active, people might suspect that I have another Quirk. But, Kaminari's regular attacks and wind-ups aren't so fast that I actually need to rely on it, so I don't need to worry about overusing it. Full Cowl's enhanced reflexes should be enough anyways._

"Let's go!" Izuku jumped forward at high speed and cocked his arm back. Then he planted his feet right before his wide-eyed opponent, ready to deliver a powerful blow to his opponent's temple. _Like Ojiro said. First two knuckles with a strong hip rotation and firmly grounded feet._ "Detroit Smash!"

His fist nearly made contact with Kaminari, but there was a sudden blinding light and Izuku felt every bone in his body shudder. Then he was thrown back several meters.

"Tsk. Come on, bro. Give me some credit." Kaminari clenched his fist as yellow electricity arced across his body at incredible speed. "I got the idea after your fight with my future wife. I call it 'Cloak of Lightning.' Cool, right?"

Izuku groaned as he shook his head clear from the shock. _So he basically copied Full Cowl...which I basically copied from him...there's something beautiful about that..._

* * *

Kirishima whistled, "Man, Kaminari looks confident as hell."

"Eh, I give it like two minutes before he short-circuits himself." Jiro snickered.

"Doubt the fight will last that long." Bakugou muttered.

Uraraka turned to him, affronted, "Hey! Give Deku more credit than that!" She paused once she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"He's actually not wrong." Yaoyorozu solemnly stated.

Mina squealed, "Oh, this is getting good now!"

"While his reasoning might be...skewed to say the least, Bakugou might be correct." The raven-haired female explained, "Kaminari's new move renders physical attacks useless, or at the very least, dangerous to perform."

Tokoyami grimaced, "And Midoriya's a close-range fighter, through and through."

"Well not entirely." A small smile appeared on the tallest girl's face, "Midoriya has one ranged attack."

"Ooh!" Uraraka pounded a fist down into her palm like a gavel, "His 'Delaware Smash' thing, right?"

"That's the one!"

Iida scratched his chin, "But that move also damages Midoriya."

The bird man smirked, "I'm pretty sure Yaoyorozu just wants him to use it so she can win the bet."

"W-what?" She turned to Tokoyami with a furious blush and panicked expression, "O-of course I don't want that! I'm just listing Midoriya's options, yeah!" She nodded to nobody in affirmation.

 _Oh you poor, terrible liar, you._ The other students sweatdropped while Yaoyorozu 'innocently' cheered on her classmates.

* * *

Izuku slowly aimed his index finger at Kaminari, his thumb pulling the digit back in preparation. _If I can't touch him, then my only choice is to knock him out of the ring with a wind blast._

He charged One For All, the red and green veins coursing across his finger. Kaminari started to sweat at his opponent's stance and determined expression.

 _Now's my chance. Fire!_

...

Izuku sighed and relaxed his hands, the intense glow fading. _I can't keep breaking my body to win my fights. What's the point of having Full Cowl if I keep defaulting to 100% every time I hit a road block?_ _I need to use what my body can handle in order to win._

 _Let's think: Full Cowl...won't work ... Chidori...injures me and it might kill Kaminari ... Sharingan...I honestly don't need it to be able to counter Kaminari. There's nothing I have that could give me a distinct advantage! How can I beat him without blowing myself up?! Ugh, not being able to hit him is more frustrating than the freaking Nomu!_

Then a spark went off in Izuku's mind and he grinned widely. _Of course! How did I not think about trying that?!_ "Hey, Kaminari!"

The blonde tensed up and locked eyes with Izuku, but still gave a friendly smirk, "What's up?" _He's barely moved since I knocked him back. I really do have this in the bag!_

Izuku just grinned and opened his eyes as wide as he could. "I want you to deactivate your Cloak of Lightning _._ " _Turn it off. Turn it off. Turn it off!_

There was the familiar ring of Izuku's Quirk and suddenly Kaminari's eyes turned red with two tomoe circling the pupil.

 _Yes! Got it! Just like with Nomu._

"Huh? Why would I do that? How bad did that zing get you, bro?" Kaminari tilted his head in confusion, the reflected Sharingan vanishing from his irises.

Izuku's jaw dropped, "W-what? I-I...it worked, right?!"

"Man, I really did fry your brain, didn't I? Lemme jumpstart it then! Indiscriminate Shock!" Kaminari grinned and threw his hands down, releasing a wave of electricity into the ground. The yellow lightning coursed through the cement, cracking it along its destructive path.

"Shit!" Izuku tried to avoid the attack by jumping but was a second too late. The lightning struck his still-grounded feet and coursed through the greenette at the speed of...well...lightning.

He fell back with a groan, smoke arising from his leg where the bolt struck him. _Okay...that didn't go according to plan. I didn't expect him to get all cocky and fire off an attack like that...though I guess that makes sense considering his ego._

"J-jeez, Midoriya. I feel k-kinda bad now." Kaminari stuttered, his eye slightly twitching.

Izuku groaned as he stood back up, his joints creaking painfully, before another idea filled him with an almost euphoric joy. _Nomu was basically an empty shell. It displayed minimal intelligence... So to win...oh this is the_ _perfect_ _matchup!_

For the first time in a long time, if at all, complete confidence filled Izuku. His grin was equally confident, "I'm still standing, aren't I?" He charged Kaminari.

The blonde just shook his head, "L-looks like I knocked a few s-screws loose, M-Midoriya." The Cloak of Lightning surrounded him, crackling menacingly.

"But how well can it defend against this?" Izuku suddenly dashed to the side and swiped down at his opponent. A slight shockwave emanated from the outstretched limb, knocking Kaminari's head back like a slap.

In that instant, the Cloak of Lightning vanished.

"Here I go!" Izuku cried as his Quirk worked overdrive to get his timing perfect, his tomoe spinning so fast he could practically feel them burning.

From his position on Kaminari's side, he jumped forward and delivered a powerful chop to the back of his head, "Missouri Smash!"

Kaminari gasped as his eyes bulged out of his skull in pain. Instinctively, he let loose a powerful wave of lightning from all directions, striking Midoriya in the chest this time, before collapsing to his knees to recover.

"O-oww. M-M-Midoriya...that was uncooolll...Oohhh nooo." Kaminari shook his head to clear his thoughts, but his poor attempt at speech was music to his foe's ears.

Standing back up while rubbing his aching chest, Izuku smiled. _Now's my chance!_

Like before, Izuku focused his gaze on his opponent's own until a familiar warmth filled his Sharingan, now reflected in Kaminari's eyes.

"Turn off your Cloak of Lightning."

Kaminari nodded and the electricity surging across his body vanished.

Mentally, Izuku cheered. _Yes! It worked! When his brain short-circuits, he can't resist the Sharingan that well!_

* * *

"WOW! KAMINARI TURNED OFF HIS QUIRK! WONDER WHAT THAT'S ABOUT. ANY COMMENTARY, ERASER?"

"He has no self-control with his electricity. He's an idiot."

Kirishima chuckled at their teacher's harsh words, "Man, Aizawa-sensei really doesn't hold back."

Bakugou huffed, "It's Pichu's fault. Dumbass had a good move, but he got cocky. Keep that shit in check."

"Like you're one to talk." Jiro deadpanned.

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

* * *

 _Seriously? Why aren't I using my Quirk? Come on! He's coming! ... Why can't I use it? Dammit, why won't my body listen to me?! I don't wanna lose here! Not like this! It's so...uncool._

 _Aren't cool guys supposed to wipe the floor with everyone else? Isn't everything supposed to be effortless?_

 _This is really hard._

 _Maybe I'm not cool...Am I lame?_

 _I'm funny, aren't I?_

 _Nobody really laughs with me though._

 _I'm strong, though._

 _But I couldn't do anything at USJ without Midoriya and Yaomomo._

 _I'm smart, right?_

 _...I'm not even gonna try to defend that one._

 _I...I really suck, don't I?_

 _Maybe I should just let Midoriya win._

 _Look, there he is. Right in front of me. Two seconds and I'll be unconscious._

 _..._

 _Wonder what he would do._

* * *

Izuku cocked his fist back and prepared to smash his knuckles into his opponent's temples. _I win!_

Then, there was another flash of light and for the millionth time, Midoriya was thrown back.

Kaminari groaned as he shook his head violently, his eyes slowly returning to their normal color. He smiled slowly, "M-man, that was w-weiiird."

 _He broke free from the Sharingan?!_

The blonde exhaled deeply, "I'm almooost ooout of juuice. Imma goooo ooout with a baaang!" Electricity crackled across his fingertips and his hair stood up like another certain golden-haired anime character.

Izuku exhaled deeply and prepared himself. _I just have to avoid this, and I win!_

 _But if you get hit_ _again_ _, you'll lose and let everyone down._

 _...Thanks for the vote of confidence, Izuku's Inner Monologue._

 _You're welcome, Izuku's Other Inner Monologue!_

 _...This isn't the time for a mental breakdown._

"Taaake this! Wheyyyyy!" Kaminari's eyes glazed over as he fired a blinding amount of electricity into the battlefield, thundering so loudly the air itself vibrated. The lightning itself was so blinding, Izuku had to avert his eyes out of instinct.

 _Crap!_ Panicking, Izuku did the first thing that came to mind, "Chidori!"

The thunderous roar of Kaminari's attack suddenly faded out as a sound like a raptor's cry cut through it. There was a bright flash and then, as quickly as it came, it faded.

Izuku panted heavily, his hand smoking. Slow turning his head to the left, he stared at a dark splotch of soot on the ground. _Did I just..._

"MIDORIYA DEFLECTED A BOLT OF LIGHTNING?! HOLY FU-"

"The children, Mic."

Kaminari looked at the black mark blankly before turning to his opponent and flashing a thumbs-up, "Whey!"

He then fell back and didn't get up again.

Midnight cracked her whip from the podium, "Kaminari is unconscious!"

Present Mic roared joyously, "THE WINNER OF THE FIRST MATCH-UP IS IZUKU MIDORIYA!"

* * *

Class A was noticeably polarized in their joyousness.

"DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT!" Bakugou roared while bashing his head into the concrete walls.

"Yes!" Uraraka cheered, her eyes tearing up at the prospect of receiving all of her winnings.

Jiro just smirked as she pulled out the wad of bills...and proceeded to pocket it once more.

To say that everyone else's expressions were priceless would've been a disservice.

"B-but, Jiro...Izuku won." Uraraka pleaded while Tokoyami and Shoji stared with twitching eyes.

Yaoyorozu stepped forward, "Technically, I was the most correct given my prediction."

A mischievous spark filled the punk-girl's eyes, "Were you?" She held up a piece of paper for her entire class to read.

 _Midoriya's gonna win (and hurt himself in the process) but Jamming Whey's gonna lose his shit first._

"J-Jamming Whey?"

"L-lose his shit?"

Jiro put the paper back in her pocket and grinned, "What can I say? I'm just craftier than everyone else."

...

"Let's kill her!" Uraraka screeched as she enthusiastically clawed at Jiro, held back only by a frightened Iida.

"No, Uraraka-dono! Yamate!"

* * *

"Well that was...interesting." All Might dryly commented as he and his pupil left the infirmary.

Izuku rubbed his head where Recovery Girl had rapped him (repeatedly) for already getting injured again, "It's not like I could help it! Kaminari shoots lightning from his fingertips. It's only natural that I'd get some burns."

"Heh. Well, Recovery Girl's always frustrated with the Sports Festival so don't take it personally. Although I am a little curious why you kept getting shocked if you could've just deflected the lightning in the first place."

"H-hey, wait! I didn't know I could do that!" Izuku waved his hands defensively.

"Really? That would've been one of the first things I tried."

"B-but..." Izuku sighed and looked down, "Sorry."

All Might broke out into hysterical laughter, "Ah, you're so fun to tease, Young Midoriya!"

"...well that was just uncalled for." Midoriya pouted in response.

"Sorry. Heh. Anyways, you should get back to your friends in the class booth. Young Sero's match is about to begin and I'm sure you're curious about who your next opponent will be." The skinny man pointed to the Class 1A section stairwell.

"Right. See you, All-"

"SSH!" All Might hissed, pointing to the people around them.

"R-right!" Izuku ran down the stairs before he could potentially out his mentor's secret for the dozenth time.

"Yo, Midori's back!" Mina waved to the greenette as he walked down to the front row.

Uraraka, Yaoyorozu and Iida turned up to look at their friend and gestured to an empty seat in between them and Jiro.

"Congrats, Deku!"

"Well done, Midoriya."

"Midoriya, the others placed wagers on your match! I found it incredibly disrespectful, but I was unfortunately alone in my-"

"Hey, good stuff out there, bro!" Kirishima clapped Izuku on the back as he sat down.

"Really good stuff." Jiro snickered as she fanned herself with an impressively large stack of yen.

"Thanks, you guys. So, is the match about to-"

"START!"

"...I guess that answers that."

On the repaired battlefield below, Awase stood calmly opposite an equally calm Sero. The former was curiously kicking off his shoes while the latter stretched his body out.

"You know, I really don't care if I win..." Sero cracked his knuckles before rapidly launching a line of tape, "But I don't wanna lose either."

The white tape wrapped itself around Awase's torso in a move clearly inspired by Aizawa. Then Sero started to pull his tape back towards him while spinning, only to fall down at the sudden resistance.

"What the hell? Why isn't it moving?" Sero tugged at the tape, but Awase was barely budging. The only indication that the Class A student was pulling at all was Awase's slight lean forward, but it appeared as if he was anchored by his-

"FEET! AWASE USED HIS QUIRK TO INSTANTLY FUSE HIS SOLES TO THE CONCRETE! LOOKS LIKE SERO'S STRATEGY FELL FLATTER THAN HIS NOSE!"

"Mic, I'm pretty sure that's mildly racist."

"THE OPERATIVE WORD THERE IS 'MILDLY,' MY DEAR, INNOCENT ERASERHEAD!"

Sero huffed and cut his tape off before smirking, "Well, at least you can't move now. Doesn't that mean I win?"

Awase's feet glowed before he started running forward, "I can still move my legs, dipshit."

Sero grunted and launched another stream of tape, this time aimed at his opponent's legs.

However, Awase quickly dodged the attack and stomped the tape down, fusing it to the cement with his toes. He then bashed Sero down with his shoulder and pressed the latter's arm against the ground with his exposed hands.

"Woah, that's weird!" Sero commented wide-eyed. His forearm skin seemed to merge perfectly with the cement in an almost grotesque manner.

"Next time, wrap up the hands properly." Awase instructed while pressing Sero's pants against the ground, fusing them as well. Then he used his foot to fuse Sero's other arm to his shirt, effectively trapping the tape user. "You're not even trying to resist."

He grinned, "Well like I said, I don't really wanna win either."

Awase just shook his head and turned to Midnight, "He's actually immobile, right?"

The R-Rated Heroine licked her lips, "Oh, sweet bondage. I can't wait until you're 18!"

Awase took an instinctive step back, "Stay the fuck away from me, lady."

"OHHHH. Berate me more!" She shivered with a squeal.

"UMM...MIDNIGHT? CAN YOU STOP GETTING AROUSED BY CHILDREN...ON INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION?"

"I promise nothing." The heroine cleared her throat before cracking her whip, "Sero is unable to move!"

"AWASE IS THE WINNER!...HONESTLY, AFTER THE FIRST MATCH, THIS FEELS SOMEWHAT ANTI-CLIMACTIC! BUT THE NEXT MATCH IS SURE TO BE VARIED AND EXCITING!"

* * *

"I MIGHT'VE SPOKE TOO SOON." Mic groaned as he watched the umpteenth minute of Bakugou and Tetsutetsu's match.

Aizawa shook his head disappointedly, "It's literally a fight between an unstoppable force and an immoveable object. How is it so ungodly boring?"

"HAHAHA! THIS IS INCREDIBLE!" Bakugou roared with joy as he fired explosion after explosion at the metal man.

Tetsutetsu seemed just as happy, "Finally! A man that can stand up to me! I'm calling it now: you're my rival!" Another explosion blasted Tetsutetsu back, but he shrugged it off and charged again.

This cycle had been going on for a long time.

A LONG time.

In the class stands, Kirishima was bashing his head into the wall, "Seriously? I should be down there fighting Bakugou! I'm his real rival!"

Mina yawned, "I don't know, Kiri. It'd probably be just as boring if you were fighting Bakugou."

He turned to his childhood friend with tears, "How could you say that? I'm way more interesting than Tetsu4 over there! We're not even comparable!"

"Oh god! This is so manly!" Tetsutetsu roared from the battlefield below.

"...I hate this stupid festival." Kirishima choked as he sobbed in a corner.

"H-hey, lighten up, Horn Buddy! You get to fight Uraraka and that's def gonna be interesting!"

"Hey, speaking of Uraraka, where is she?"

* * *

"Ow ow ow!" Izuku rapidly tapped Uraraka's back as she pinned him to the ground in the waiting room while twisting his arm.

"Uraraka, I think that means he gives up." Iida sweatdropped at his friend's bulging eyes.

"Heh, sorry about that, Deku." Uraraka relaxed her grip and helped her 'opponent' off of the ground, "I just wanted to make sure my moves were sharp before the match."

Izuku groaned while rubbing his shoulders, "Man, I can't believe Ojiro even knew anything that brutal. It's seriously impressive that you got it down so perfectly though, Uraraka!"

She blushed at the compliment, "It's nothing!"

"Well, it's not nothing, Uraraka. High-level martial arts like that normally takes years of training. You seem to have a serious talent for it though!" Iida asserted reassuringly.

"Jeez, y'all gonna make me embarrassed." She chuckled sheepishly, "I just saw how hard everyone was training and thought I should work hard too, ya know?"

She flashed back to the times she saw the greenette working out at school, sparring against their classmates, talking to basically everyone about ways to better himself.

 _He's so much more dedicated than I am...can I really compare to that? I guess there's only one way to really find out._

The trio continued to chat until Present Mic called Uraraka out after Bakugou - FINALLY \- knocked out Tetsutetsu.

"Good luck! We're rooting for you!"

"Do your best, Uraraka!"

She waved to her friends before exiting the concrete hallway and entering the sunny field. Exhaling deeply, she stepped onto the battlefield opposite Kirishima.

Acutely, she was aware of Present Mic's, likely degrading, commentary but her nerves got the better of her and blocked it out.

Her heart pounding so hard that she heard it in her ears, she dashed forward the second it was called, "START!"

* * *

 **Hosu City**

 _Man, I really need to speed up. I'm gonna miss Tenya's next match! I already had to miss my morning jog...wonder how_ _he's_ _doing? Ugh, I can't worry about that now. Multiple reports from the last hour...focus!_

It was a sunny day in the city as the Turbo Hero: Ingenium leapt up and over buildings in his shiny armor, much to the adoration of the people below.

But despite the cheery atmosphere of the city, Tensei Iida was on patrol for a disconcertingly grim reason.

 _Over a dozen dead heroes. Over 20 crippled. And he's definitely somewhere in Hosu. Only question is...where?_

Ingenium landed on an empty street and took off, the engines in his arms propelling him at blazing speed, "Squad A, go north. Squad B, check the west side!"

Then he noticed a flash of movement on the side as well as an eerie chill down his spine.

Skidding to a halt, Ingenium scaled a building before dropping into an alley while activating his intercom, "I've found him!"

Across the shadowy alley, a figure hunched over in the darkness, the only sign of life being his eyes shining with malice.

Red like all the blood on his hands.

"It's the Hero Killer!"

* * *

 **Sorry this took so long but I deleted the original version (like a FUCKING idiot) and also took a break cuz I'm going back to college (YAY!).**

 **Next time you see me, I'll probably be in Manhattan...and it'll probably also be a bit...Sorry about that.**

 **In my defense, I think I still update really often relative to most authors so...yeah!**

 **Anyways, I'm thinking about doing something special for hitting 100,000 words and 1000 followers. Maybe a Q &A/ fluffy comedy chapter or something? Lemme know what you'd like to see.**

 **As always, thank you all for the incredible support!**


	14. Identity Politics

**I know it seems ostentatious of me, but I'm FLOORED:**

 **1000 followers?!**

 **1000?!**

 **Thanks so much for the INSANE support over the last couple of months. It's honestly so awesome and I really appreciate it, especially since I've been a bad Author-kun recently.**

 **In announcement news: I'm gonna celebrate this milestone with a special chapter! I don't have it** **completely** **figured out yet, but I'm planning on a comedic, 4th wall-breaking talk show bit that'll take place in some sort of hallucination of Izuku's or someone else's. It'll also be a part of a larger fluff chapter, kinda like what Chapter 7 was, but with the comedic shenanigans of Chapter 9.**

 **Obviously, hilarity will ensue.**

 **Submit questions about anything and everything that you want answered in a review or PM and it'll be featured in the chapter!**

 **Now onto the...regular Q &A...(couldn't answer everyone since there were SO many reviews/PMs).**

* * *

 **Q &A**

 **\- (FlamingSkyDragon) If you missed it in Chapter 12, the DBZA reference was about Izuku needing juice, which parallels a conversation Piccolo and Gohan had in the abridged version of 'Super Android 13'. And the last chapter had the 'No Uraraka-dono' bit from the DBZA Kai 2 special.**

 **\- (sc2br) Not sure what moves the Sharingan should have been able to read, but every time I mention that Izuku couldn't read a move, it's because the evidence in 'Naruto' points to that being the case. So Izuku's not nerfed. He's just not as powerful as you want him to be and that honestly might just be because the immature Sharingan doesn't have much direct exposition in the way of explaining its abilities like the mature or the Mangekyō.**

 **\- (Giltlawyer9000) I'm not sure if One For All can empower Quirks in the same vein that the Sharingan can empower One For All. But I'll think about if I'd want to go down that path...jk I've decided, and you'll just have to wait to see because how else would I attract interest in this story?**

 **\- (Eminated) First off, rude. Second off, Kaminari can freely move the electricity in and around his body. He just can't control it when it's released. So yes, he could** _ **theoretically**_ **pull something like Full Cowl if he tried. Honestly, I just wanted to give him A's Lightning Release: Chakra Armor and this was an easy way to do it.**

 **\- (moonstar31548, kombatant88) Nobody plays fair in gambling so she's not going to give the money back or spit it or anything. But she will put it towards a 'good' cause (hint hint FORESHADOWING hint hint).**

 **\- (Oh look a Guest) The Eri fluff was definitely piled on, in retrospect, but I think it's gotten better since then. I hope so, at least. In the future, things won't be so...fluffy. Plus, she has a purpose (hint hint FORESHADOWING hint hint).**

* * *

 _Chapter 14: Identity Politics_

* * *

"OOH! THAT'S GOTTA HURT!" Present Mic winced as Kirishima dropped a wicked punch on Uraraka, completely skirting around the smaller student's block.

Uraraka stumbled back before falling onto her rear, then rolling back onto her knees while she regained her bearings, rubbing her likely-bruised jaw.

 _Man! She's got an iron chin for sure!_ "So manly! I'm so pumped up!" Kirishima punched his fists together and charged his stunned foe.

The brunette shook her head clear and rolled at the last second, avoid the redhead's downward punch. She then jumped behind him, wrapped her arms around his gut, and performed a suplex, driving his head straight into the cement.

Unfortunately for her, Kirishima was more than capable of shrugging that off, "Woah. Good move, Uraraka!" Effortlessly, he used his hardened hands to pry her arms from his torso and jabbed his elbows into her sides, eliciting a sharp gasp and the thud of her dropping below him.

However, Kirishima suddenly realized he couldn't feel...anything. It was as if his body's weight had suddenly vanished and now he was simply floating in mid..."Oh..."

Uraraka scrambled away from under her floating opponent and spat out a bit of blood from that last jab to her ribs. Nonetheless, she smiled with pride. _Kirishima's a close-range fighter for sure. All I had to do was pull off one of the grapple moves Ojiro taught me and use my Quirk while he was down. Without gravity, he's basically just a floating rock._

Kirishima hissed as he tried to grab onto the ground and pull himself down, but only managed to kick his body further into the air.

"AND KIRISHIMA'S COMPLETELY DE-GRAVITIZED! LOOK AT HIM FLAILING AROUND! ERASER, YOU SEEING THIS? IT'S HILARIOUS!"

"Mic, who let you become a teacher?"

"UNIVERSITY OF PHEONIX! ONLINE DEGREES ARE THE FUTURE, YEAHHHHH!"

Wiping the last bit of blood from her mouth, Uraraka held her fingertips against each other, "Kirishima, you can't maneuver around like that, can you?"

He grunted in response, his face as red as his hair while he struggled with all his might to propel himself, to no avail. "Can't give up! Not...manly!"

Midnight giggled sadistically, "Oh, it's not up to you. Kirishima's unable to move!"

"URARAKA WINS! WITH THAT, WE HAVE ALL OF THE A BLOCK MATCH-UPS DECIDED FOR THE NEXT ROUND!"

The jumbotron flashed an image of Uraraka's student profile before cutting to the tournament bracket, graying out all of the Block A losers while drawing lines connecting the next match-ups.

 **Block A**

 _Izuku Midoriya_ vs. _Yosetsu Awase_

 _Katsuki Bakugou_ vs. _Ochako Uraraka_

"WITH THAT, WE'LL START WITH BLOCK B! COULD WE HAVE THE NEXT SET OF CONTESTANTS GET TO THE ARENA?"

Uraraka pressed her fingertips together, "Release!" A subtle pink glow flashed, and the floating redhead suddenly fell down.

"Oww." Kirishima groaned as he rubbed his face.

"S-sorry!" Uraraka rushed over and knelt by her friend, "I should've warned you! My bad."

He shrugged it off with a toothy grin, "It's alright. I probably deserve it after getting beaten like that. I didn't even notice you used your Quirk during the grapple. Nice work!"

"Thanks, but are you sure you're okay? I know how badly you wanted to fight Bakugou."

He waved her comment away, "Nah, it's fine. Like, sure, I'm a little disappointed, but this just shows me I have a long way to go before I can stand up against Bakugou and the others. I'm getting pumped just thinking about all the training I'm gonna do!" He banged his hardened fists together and smiled.

The two enjoyed their moment, until it was completely and utterly shattered by a squealing R-Rated Hero, "OOOOH! I just loooove your enthusiasm! It's making me soooo we-"

"Aaaand, it's time to get outta here. See you back upstairs, Uraraka."

The two exited their respective tunnels. As she walked past the waiting area, Uraraka coughed and immediately hissed at the pain in her ribs, gingerly holding her sides.

"You should see Recovery Girl. That elbow jab looked painful." Turning with a start, Uraraka met Yaoyorozu's gaze.

"Jeez, ya scared me." She sighed as her heart stopped racing after that last jolt.

Yaoyorozu giggled and stood up, "Sorry to startle you. Congratulations, by the way! That strategy was really smart."

"Heh, it was nothing. Just something I came up with on the fly. Not sure how much good it's gonna do against Bakugou though," the brunette pondered morosely.

The Deputy Representative patted the shorter girl on the back, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll do amazing! Besides, I'm sure Midoriya would be happy to lend you his notes if you wanted an outside perspective."

Uraraka shook her head, "I know, but I think I need to do this on my own."

"Hmm? But what's wrong with accepting a little help from a friend? Even as heroes, we can collaborate with one another. Besides, classmates should help each other, shouldn't they?"

Uraraka shrugged, "I know, but...it's like after USJ, I just have this emptiness, you know? Like I saw how helpful everyone was...Iida...you...Todoroki...Deku...I need to figure out if I can stand with them instead of relying on them, if that makes sense."

Yaoyorozu's onyx eyes widened and she smiled softly, "Yes, that makes perfect sense. I'll be sure to live up to your example, Uraraka!"

* * *

"There's nothing left to show!" Hatsume announced as she exited the ring.

Midnight's whip cracked, "Hatsume is out of the ring. Yaoyorozu moves on to the second round!"

Yaoyorozu sighed with exhaustion as she collapsed onto her knees. _So much for my promise to Uraraka._

For the entirely of their match, Hatsume used a series of auto-turrets and sticky bombs to keep Yaoyorozu at bay while she made a ten-minute pitch to the Hero Support company representatives in the audience.

Then, every time Yaoyorozu managed to destroy the turrets with a grenade or EMP device behind her protective shield, the pink-haired female just skirted away with her support gear and set up another set of obstacles.

Truth be told, it was fairly impressive how obnoxious one person could be.

"LET'S...TRY TO FORGET THAT AND GET SOME ACTION FROM THE NEXT COMPETITORS! STRAIGHT OUT OF EDGAR ALLEN POE'S WET DREAMS, IT'S CLASS A'S FUMIKAGE TOKOYAMIIII!"

"Hizashi, what the fuck?"

"I'M AN ENGLISH TEACHER, ERASERHEAD! POETRY JOKES ARE MY FORTE!"

"That wasn't the problem and I think you know that."

Tokoyami groaned while pressing his hand to his forehead, cheeks tinged pink from his introduction, "It's bad enough I'm in the sunlight, but now Mic-sensei is making derogatory comments at me. There's no revelry to be had here."

"NEXT UP IS THE GUY WHO LOOKS LIKE HOW EDGAR ALLEN POE FEELS! HITOSHI SHINSOU FROM CLASS NOT-A!"

"Mic, you're offensive on so many levels, I think we might actually be arrested."

"LET THEM COME!"

Shinso cracked his neck and placed his hands in his pockets, flashing Tokoyami a cocky grin with just a hint of ill-intent, "Before we start, I think I should apologize."

Fumikage raised an eyebrow and opened his beak to speak, only to clamp a hand over it, recalling Ojiro's warning during the break. _Don't speak to him! I need to maintain my composure and keep quiet. Luckily, it's so sunny that I don't need to worry about exciting Dark Shadow._

The purple-haired teen's eyes widened slightly at the lack of response, but continued with his trademark smirk, "Yeah, I feel just awful about that monkey dropping out. He was your classmate, right?"

Tokoyami's gaze narrowed at the insult directed at his friend, but he kept his cool, staying silent even after Present Mic announced the start of the match.

The General Studies student's eye twitched in annoyance, "So the monkey told you the secret to my Quirk, did he? Or did you figure it out yourself? That's impressive regardless! I thought birds had really small brains, but you must have a good-sized pea on your shoulders!"

Tokoyami clenched his fists in anger. _Just stay quiet. Dark Shadow, knock him out!_ Silently summoning his shadowy companion, he guided the apparition towards Shinso, the latter's confident expression betrayed by his instinctive step backwards.

"I'm not much for hurting small animals, but I'll make an exception for a freak like you."

 _...Technically, I'm not responding to him if I don't speak_ _to_ _him._ "Dark Shadow, make it hurt!"

The sentient Quirk's speed doubled as he charged Shinso, " _You got it, boss!_ "

Shinso gulped and quickly went over his options. _Let's see: insulted classmate...check. Insulted_ _him_ _...check. Called him a freak_... _check. Dammit! Think, Hitoshi! What might send him over the edge? There's gotta be something! Come on, what else does he like?!...wait a second..._

The taller boy regained his smirk and confidently remarked, "Black is an ugly color!"

"Now you listen to-" _Shit!_

* * *

Ojiro grabbed his head in frustration, "Dammit! I specifically told him not to let him get in his head!"

Uraraka just chuckled sheepishly, "To think that'd be his breaking point."

"Either way, it's still less embarrassing than Yaomomo's battle," Sero commented, earning a quick elbow from Jiro.

"Apologize!" She pointed at the dejected heiress.

"I'm sorry!"

Meanwhile, Izuku was scribbling like he'd never scribbled before, "Tokoyami's Weaknesses, Updated: Likes black too much."

* * *

Shinso grinned as he felt the familiar tug of a successful mind control attempt. Instantly, Dark Shadow ceased moving forward while his owner tensed up with glazed eyes.

"LOOKS LIKE TOKOYAMI'S COMPLETELY ZONED OUT! WHAT HAPPENED?!"

"Shinso's Quirk is literally on the roll call sheet in front of you. At least try to be a good announcer."

"HEY, YOU TRY TRANSITIONING FROM A PODCAST TO HOSTING THE MOST POPULAR EVENT IN THE EASTERN HEMISPHERE LIVE ON THE AIR!"

Relaxing himself after the slight panic from before, Shinso commanded, "Now be a good birdie and fly out of the ring."

Tokoyami quickly turned around and walked toward the edge...

Except he wasn't moving forward!

He was being anchored in place by...

" _Fumi? Why're you so quiet?_ "

Shinso's (and most everyone else's) eyes bulged out of his skull, "You've got to be kidding me!"

Dark Shadow turned to his master and cocked his head, " _Fumi...are you dead?_ "

The purple-haired teen face-palmed. _So the shadow's actually got a separate consciousness? Great, how do I get him to talk?_ "Yo, Smokey."

" _Fumi._ "

"Hey, chicken!"

" _Fumi. Fumi. Fumi._ "

Shinso sweatdropped. _I'm being ignored...and I've run out of insults..._

Dark Shadow approached his partner and started poking him in the face, " _Fumi. Fumi. Fumi. Fumikage. Fumikage! Tokoyami. Lord of Darkness. Shadow King. He Who Shall Not Be Named Unless He So Chooses To Be Named Because Identity Is A Thing And It's Beautiful...I'm running out of nicknames for you._ "

There was no response as Tokoyami simply made another attempt to walk out of the ring, despite his avatar once again restricting his movement.

" _Why're you trying to walk out of the ring? Did that guy hurt your feelings or something?...Is it_ _his_ _Quirk? If I beat him, will you talk to me again? Fumi? Eh, worth a shot."_

Shinso's eyes widened, "Wait wha- oof!"

In a flash, Dark Shadow rocketed forward and headbutted Shinso out of the ring and right onto his back.

"...I SUPPOSE DARK SHADOW - AND BY PROXY, TOKOYAMI - WINS THE MATCH!" Present Mic scratched his cheek, unsure of how to process the last couple minutes.

On the ground, Shinso grit his teeth and clawed his fingers into the grass, "You Hero Course jerks! Think you're so much better than us just because you were born with Quirks suited for this type of work. You don't know what it's like to be judged as something you're not, just because your Quirk makes people uncomfortable! To be told you're suited for something you have no interest in becoming!"

" _Um...Mr...I don't know your name,_ " Dark Shadow meekly called, " _I don't know if you saw, but Fumi's head's shaped like a bird._ "

"...I...uh...I noticed." Shinso replied, nonplussed.

" _Oh cool! Um...anyways, he got made fun of a lot for that. And because of me, he doesn't have any privacy or anything like that. And he can't let it get too dark otherwise I take over his body become an unstoppable force of destruction and violence._ "

"Wait, what?"

" _I'm just trying to say that every Quirk comes with its own challenges_."

"Wait, what do you turn into when it gets dark?"

" _But Fumikage never let it keep him down because he wants to be a hero, regardless of what other people say or the trouble I give him. So you should be like Fumi._ "

 _I'm taking life advice from a floating shadow monster...Honestly, not the worst person to turn to considering the Hero Course's English teacher._ "...Thanks...Toko - er - Dark Shadow. Or...both?"

Tokoyami blinked as he felt his bearings return to him, "Wha...what happened?"

" _Fumi! You're not dead anymore!_ " Dark Shadow cheered.

"...you know we're linked, right? If I die, you die."

Dark Shadow gasped and retreated into the comfort of his partner's abdomen, " _S-s-scary!_ "

Tokoyami groaned, "You're such a coward when it's bright outside...but good work."

* * *

Izuku wiped his brow and smiled at his newly completed entry for Tokoyami, "Phew! Finally finished adding those last few notes."

"F-few?" Kirishima sweatdropped.

Uraraka whispered, "I think Deku's got his own definitions for certain words."

"Ya think?!" Kaminari whistled while reading through the recently completed ' _Hero Analysis for the Future: No. 13_ '. "Like, where do you even keep these notebooks?"

Half of the class leaned in, the question they all had since they met Midoriya finally put forward.

"O-oh! Well, I actually-"

"And why's this one so burnt?"

"DAMMIT, KAMINARI!" Class 1A screeched.

"Oh, w-well...um...Kacchan sorta...blew it up." Izuku scratched his head.

"I DID NOT!" Bakugou roared from the front seat.

Jiro shrugged, "Sounds like something you'd do."

"Yeah, it's completely in character for you." Shoji remarked.

"Even Todoroki would agree, and he doesn't talk to anyone." Asui added, "And speaking of..."

"LET'S GIVE IT UP FOR THE FAN FAVORITE! UNLIKE HIS DAD, HE'S ACTUALLY NUMBER 1 AT SOMETHING! IT'S CLASS A'S TOP HUSBANDO, SHOTO TODOROKI!"

"Eat a dick, Mic!" Endeavor roared from the stands.

"HOW BOUT YOURS? OH WAIT, DID ALL MIGHT TAKE THAT FROM YOU, TOO?!"

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

"OH I WISH YOU W-" The mic suddenly cut out.

The audience fell into a stunned silence, broken only by the slightest chuckle from the participant on the stage.

"Ahem." The sound of Aizawa clearing his throat replaced the sudden quiet, "Sorry about that, but I've been told that Present Mic's been fired from his job as announcer. So here to replace him is UA's principle-"

"What am I? Am I a mouse? Dog? A bear? But my true identity is-"

Eraserhead interrupted, "Yes, very funny, Principal Nezu, but let's just get back to the fight at hand."

"But what am I? I have severe dysphoria!"

In a wonderfully bland monotone, Aizawa called the next competitor, "Todoroki's fighting Mina Ashido. Start."

The pinkette chuckled sheepishly, "Man, I almost miss Present Mic-sensei. What about you, Todo-"

"Sorry about this." Todoroki tapped the ground with his right foot, unleashing a sizeable, yet quick, stream of ice that rapidly wrapped itself around Mina's stunned body.

"C-c-c-cold!" She chattered.

Midnight shivered and turned to the trapped Ashido, "C-can you move?"

"Um...let me think."

Todoroki just shook his head, "You know you can't. Just finish this up, Ashido."

She grinned mischievously, "But do I know? You're not giving me much credit, Todo!"

"Todo?"

The ice around Mina's arms and feet began to sizzle. After a few seconds, she shattered her prison and began running towards her opponent.

Todoroki's eyebrows raised slightly, but he just sent another, slightly larger wave of ice at her.

However, Ashido easily sidestepped this attack and countered with a spray of her own acid.

Ducking under the veil, Todoroki hissed when a drop of acid caught his clothes, dissolving the fabric. _She got me._

In a flash of instinct, Todoroki waved his right hand in an arc, creating a huge pillar of ice that slammed right into the unsuspecting Ashido and sent her careening out of bounds.

"Hmm." Eraserhead grunted, "Todoroki wins."

"Eraserhead, that's not very good commentary. Try to say actual words instead of grunts." Nezu politely stated.

"I'm not good at this stuff. Sorry."

"You certainly don't sound sorry! No matter! My teaching philosophies tell me that the best and most educational commentary is practically identical to the constructive criticism a teacher would offer a student!"

"Huh...well...I'd say both are pretty similar in terms of their strengths and weaknesses. Both are really good with their own Quirks and they both have major personality flaws that hold them back.

"Ashido's quick and skilled with her acid and her physicality is unmatched among the first-years. But she's not very creative with application and her laid-back attitude rarely drives her to come up with reasonable strategy.

"Then Todoroki's Quirk is one of the stronger ones I've seen. Plus, his own physical abilities are probably the strongest among the boys in his class. But he's so used to dominating his foes that if he ever fought someone who could match his power or avoid it entirely, he'd probably lose focus for a second."

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Nezu's cheery voice offered a welcome respite to the soul-crushing dreariness of Aizawa's.

"...No."

a

"Aww, I'm really proud of you, Shota! You get an A!"

"...I'm not a student."

"Haha! Good one!"

* * *

After another quick match where Iida delivered the mother-of-all kicks to Aoyama's face within the first three seconds, the Quarterfinals were announced.

 **Block A**

 _Izuku Midoriya_ vs _. Yosetsu Awase_

 _Katsuki Bakugou_ vs. _Ochako Uraraka_

 **Block B**

 _Momo Yaoyorozu_ vs. _Fumikage Tokoyami_

 _Shoto Todoroki_ vs. _Tenya Iida_

Aizawa coughed into the mic, which made for an interesting sound, before calling the first match, "Midoriya and Awase, get onto the stage."

Izuku breathed deeply as he stepped onto the stage opposite Awase. _His Quirk let's him fuse things that he touches. He's also really confident, but he's also really wound up...kinda like Kacchan..._

For a moment, he chuckled at the thought of the next round and the potential swear-off between Bakugou and Awase before slapping his cheeks and shaking the thought out. _No!_ _I'm_ _gonna fight in the next round! I've already won two matches. What's one more?_

"Start." Aizawa announced.

Awase cracked his knuckles and put his hands up, "Ready when you are, Midoriya."

 _C-cool!_ Izuku nodded and charged One For All throughout his body. _Full Cowl! Also..._ "Sharingan!"

Immediately, Izuku went to work analyzing Yosetsu's form. _He's got his palms open, probably so he can fuse anything on the fly. His footwork's unsteady, but it's set up for quick movement. He knows that the stuff he pulled against Sero and Tsuburaba won't work against a close-range fighter like me so he's going for a quick evade, probably with a counter that'll limit my movement. So I'll just hit him before he can react!_

Izuku dashed forward in a stream of emerald lightning. He cocked his fist back and sent it flying at Awase right as he got within reach.

With a satisfying smack, Awase's head snapped back from the blow. However, a small movement caught Izuku's eye, to which he reacted too late.

 _Dammit!_ Izuku hissed as Awase's fingertips brushed against the former's shirt and instantly fused, pulling the greenette along as the latter fell down.

"Oww! Jesus, that freaking hurt!" Awase groaned, before smiling as he grabbed a fistful of Midoriya's shirt and fused the rest of his hand to it, "But I've got you now!"

Midoriya pulled himself up, with great effort since Awase was still too stunned to stand on his own and seized the hand gripping his gym shirt. _It's really fused at the molecular level! I can't pull it off!_

"Gotcha." Awase grinned as his hand glowed and suddenly pulled away from Izuku's shirt, scrambling away to recuperate from the earlier punch.

Without thinking, Izuku went for a punch, only to feel an odd...sensation in his hand. Like it suddenly weighed twice as much...and was attached to the other arm...and his torso...

 _Oh no..._

Looking down, Izuku nearly vomited at the grotesque body horror that was his hands. The fingers overlapped and twisted around each other like an even-more horrific worm ball. Simultaneously, his own fingertips were now stuck onto his shirt, effectively trapping his arms.

 _When I grabbed his hand, he simultaneously unfused himself while fusing my fingers together and_ _then_ _fusing them to my shirt. All in an instant. He's right to be so confident; his technique and speed are amazing!_

Izuku pulled up and with a loud rip \- plus a surprising amount of effort - managed to tear the chunk of fabric fused to his skin out of his shirt, creating a large tear down the middle.

Midnight squealed, "Yes! This is what I've been waiting for! Shirtless teen boys are literally, my top searched-"

"And, that's where I censor you." Aizawa said as he drowned out the dominatrix's - _ahem_ \- passionate words.

Awase took one look at his opponent's exposed torso and whistled, "Respect."

"U-um...thanks." Izuku blushed before dashing forward. _Okay, keep the Sharingan on his hands and other exposed areas. Avoid those and I'll be fine! Like his torso, that's where I should-_

Awase unzipped his shirt and removed it, exposing his own torso.

"YESSSS!" Midnight roared.

Izuku's outstretched hands connected with Awase's chest, but he immediately rolled into the attack, fusing the fabric-finger mish-mash with his pectoral, then seizing Midoriya's elbows and pulling him closer.

 _Not again!_ Izuku groaned as he was pulled down for the second time, except now Awase rotated at the last second so that he landed on top of Midoriya and pinned him down and if you seriously don't think Midnight was panting heavily at this point, I don't know what to tell you.

Awase pressed Izuku's arms to the ground and instantly fused them, once again trapping his opponent.

Izuku struggled to lift his arms off the ground, but to no avail. _Dammit! He only needs to_ _touch_ _me, and it completely changes the fight! How can I get out of this? Think, dammit!_ His eyes began to sting, whether from tears of frustration, dust, or something else and he ran through his options.

Awase stood up and dusted himself off, "He can't move, right?"

Midnight licked her lips at the pinned boy, before cracking her flail, "Izuku M-"

"No!" Izuku yelled as he flipped up and onto his feet, "I can still fight." _The angle's awkward as hell, but..._

With 5% coursing through his legs, he stomped the cement until it cracked before lifting up as hard as he could. "Gah!"

The ground beneath his feet cracked and he felt his back straighten as his arm, with a sizeable chunk of cement, came free. _Jesus, this is heavy!_

Awase's eyes bulged, "Holy shit, dude. What the actual fuck?! That's freaking crazy!"

 _So much for being cool._ Izuku steeled himself and controlled his breathing despite the insane weight on his arms. _Let's try something else._

He threw his hands up and suddenly pulled them down. With the added weight of the cement block, this sent him flying forward in a flip. "Take this, Manchester Smash!"

Izuku brought his leg down in an axe kick over Awase's head, crumpling his foe. He flipped back up and prepared to attack again but was relieved to see that Awase was unconscious.

"Izuku Midoriya is the winner!" Midnight announced over the audience's cheers, before licking her lips maliciously, "But I'm the real winner today." She looked down at her phone, where she perfectly captured the moment Awase pinned Midoriya down.

"Oh...I'm gonna have some fun when this is done."

* * *

After getting some help to Recovery Girl's office by the drones, it was just a matter of the unconscious Awase getting injected with a Quirk disruptor to undo the fusing on Izuku's hands.

"You're lucky I brought some along, otherwise you'd be in here until the poor boy woke up." Recovery Girl chastised, exasperated at the repeated visits.

"R-right, sorry ma'am." Izuku rubbed his head in embarrassment.

She sighed and sat down, "It's not really your fault I suppose, but these disruptors are expensive! Only way I could make them was through Shota's Quirk Factor and now that he's injured, it'll be a while before I can get anymore."

The loudspeakers flared to life, "Ahem."

"Speak of the devil..."

"Uraraka and Bakugou, walk onto the stage. Start whenever you feel like it."

Izuku's eyes widened, "Gah! I forgot her fight's next! I'm gonna go watch. Thank you, again!"

Recovery Girl waved him off but gave a small smile once he left. _He didn't injure himself this time. I hope he's learning!_

There was a loud explosion from the field.

 _Though the odds of coming through unscathed next round are...bad, to say the least.  
_

* * *

Bakugou held his breath as the smoke cleared from his opening explosion. Uraraka had made a mad dash right for him, only to be stopped by a quick blast.

Now he was just waiting for the first sign of life.

 _There!_ Bakugou zeroed in on a flash of blue in front of him and slammed it down.

"What the hell?" It was just the UA gym jacket. _That means..._

Uraraka appeared from behind Bakugou and extended her arms, fingertips outstretched for her Quirk. _He fell for it!_

Unfortunately for her, the hot-tempered teen was also the quicker of the two and he launched a flowing explosion that sent her skidding back, sore and short of breath. _Come on! So clo-_

"Too slow!"

There wasn't even time to think as he ran forward to deliver another powerful blast, knocking Uraraka back several meters. She rolled along the ground painfully and coughed, but stood up just as fast as he attacked, grit emanating from her steely gaze.

Acutely, she was aware of some commotion in the crowd and the loud speakers. It sounded like there was booing and Aizawa-sensei was yelling, but she couldn't be sure.

The only thing she could hear for sure was the ring from the explosion, the sound of her own heartbeat, and Deku's battle cry.

 _"I'm the 'Deku' that never gives up!"_

She charged forward and roared, only to take another blast to the face. Gritting her teeth and growling through the burning pain, she ran through the smoke, catching the boy off guard.

Her fingers just grazed his body before he sent her flying once more. She coughed before going once more, "I'm not done yet!"

Again and again, Uraraka charged Bakugou. Again and again he countered.

However, he didn't move much.

 _Lucky me._

"Thanks, Bakugou."

The blonde raised a brow, "Huh? What're you on about, Round Face?"

She hardened her look and pressed her fingers together, "You'll see soon enough."

From above Bakugou, all of the rocks and debris Uraraka collected while Bakugou was blasting away at her rocketed downwards like hundreds of little meteorites.

"What the actual fuck?" Bakugou's jaw dropped. _I knew she must've had some sorta plan - hangs around with Deku too much to not have one - but how many fucking rocks did she touch?!_

Uraraka pressed forward, ignoring the pain wracking her body. _Whether he gets hit or not, I'll catch him with my Quirk while he's distracted!_

But then Bakugou lifted his arm up and fired the largest blast any of them had ever seen from him, even bigger than the one he used against the Nomu.

And that was with his gauntlet.

The shockwave sent dust, and Uraraka, flying around the stage while the sound made the audience members clutch their ears in pain.

Uraraka couldn't tell if the pain in her chest was from the blast wave or the soul-crushing realization that her trump card had utterly, and spectacularly, failed. _That was the best I could do...and it still wasn't enough..._

She shook her head clear of her doubts - and the ringing noise - before standing back up for another go at it. _Doesn't matter. I can't give up now! Not when I'm so close! For Deku, Mom, Dad, everyone! I need to win this!_

Bakugou grinned at his charging foe, "Alright. Let's get serious, Uraraka!"

Then her knees buckled.

* * *

From the shadows of the Hosu City alleyway, the Hero Killer smiled maliciously, his blade sleek with blood. On the ground beneath his spiked boots lay another false idol, mercilessly culled by his self-righteous vengeance.

Ingenium sputtered, splattering more blood over his cracked, crimson-slick armor. The last vestiges of his conscious struggled to maintain their grip on reality but the pain...the unending pain...it refused to let him breathe.

Stain smirked as he dragged his serrated sword along the ground, the metal scraping sonorously against the concrete, "To still be awake after all that. You have the stamina of a hero, I'll give you that. Too bad it's wasted on the rest of you."

"W-why...why are you doing this?" Ingenium struggled to get up but his body screamed in protest, aching from the overwhelming torture that was the Hero Killer's wrath.

"I detest this society that bastardizes its own ideals. Sells the title of 'hero' to the first bastard with a flashy costume and strong Quirk and then condemns those who'd do the right thing because it's the right thing simply because it takes away from the false savior's profit margins. Being a hero used to mean something...now there's only one real hero."

"Lemme guess...it's you...You're the savior." Ingenium was barely getting the oxygen to survive, let alone talk, but he desperately needed to stall for time. The sensors in his suit would've alerted someone at his agency by now. Someone knew where he was and how grave the situation was.

Stain chuckled before burying his sword in the armored hero's shoulder, earning a roar of agony, "I'm no hero. I'm the necessary evil that'll purge society of fakes like you. Then, once my mission is complete, I'll allow myself to die."

In the distance, Tensei heard a siren and grinned, "S-sorry, but...your mission's ending...e-early."

Stain cocked his head before his eyes widened in realization as the sirens got closer and closer.

Then his face broke out into a grin, "I say I have a few seconds before I need to leave."

He locked eyes with Ingenium and the latter felt true, unabashed, life-endangered terror.

"That's plenty of time."

* * *

"Uraraka!" Izuku burst into her waiting room, sweat pouring from the long run from the Class A stands.

"Man, I guess I lost, huh?" She giggled sheepishly.

"...huh?" He sweatdropped at the cavalier greeting. "Are you okay?"

She smiled and looked away, "I mean, it sucks to lose, but you're always going forward. Seems kinda stupid if I don't move on from this as well, ya know?"

Izuku nodded. Clearly, she wasn't alright, but he didn't wanna pry. For a while, the two just sat in silence, allowing the sounds of the battle outside keep the situation from becoming overly awkward.

"Tokoyami wins. Next group, please." Aizawa called through the mic.

"Wow, Yaoyorozu lost?" Izuku whistled, "Man, I know how much she wanted to leave a good impression. I hope it was a good fight." _It was_ _really_ _fast though._

Uraraka nodded, remembering the two's promise to each other earlier that day. Feeling tears prick her eyes, she was saved from a breakdown by the ringing of her phone. _Huh? Missed calls from Dad?_

"Here, I'll let you take that. I'll try to wish Iida luck before his match." Izuku gave a reassuring smile before walking out of the room.

She looked at her phone and took one deep breath before answering, "Hello?"

"Ochako?" A rich and deep voice replied. A uniquely comforting one.

"Hey Dad...sorry I didn't answer earlier."

"It's nothing. Your mom and I saw your fights on TV. You were incredible out there!"

The words filled her with a temporary elation, but that feeling quickly vanished, "But it only matters if you win. And I got totally destroyed."

"Hey, come on now! There's always next year. And I dare a Pro Hero to tell me to my face that my baby girl wasn't the bravest person out on the field today!"

"B-but the scouts are looking for top contenders."

"I mean...what's the rush?"

"Well...I have to...For you and for mom."

The other end was silent for a while before Mr. Uraraka spoke again, his voice gentle and soft, "Ochako, you know you don't have to go crazy over us, right? Heck, you probably worry more about us that we do for you." He chuckled sheepishly, "After all, your mom and I know you're going to be an incredible hero."

* * *

Izuku was already down the hall, but he could still vaguely hear the sound of choked sobs behind him. _Of course she's sad. She has every reason to be. I want to pay her back for all of her help but...the best thing I can do right now is focus on the next match._

He steeled himself and continued to Iida's waiting room, only to find it empty, "Guess he left already."

"Oh, Midoriya."

Izuku turned to the sound of the voice, "Oh, Yaoyorozu." He gave a reassuring smile, "Sorry about the match. Are you okay?"

She smiled slightly and nodded, "I'm fine. Just a little shell-shocked."

There was...something about her expression though. An unusual subdued quality to her emotions. And for the heiress, that was saying something.

"You sure?" _Certainly don't look fine._

She averted her gaze but nodded again. Then she plastered on a sheepish smile, "Truth be told, I'm a little famished. Care to join me?"

He nodded, "Yeah, that sounds good. Don't wanna go into the next fight hungry."

"Right. You're fighting Bakugou...how're you feeling?"

Izuku sighed, "Nervous, I guess. I haven't thought too much about it, truth be told. But honestly...I'm ready. More than any other fight, this is the one I know I can win. Everything I've done...all that training after the Battle Trial and USJ, in a way, has been so that I could catch up to Kacchan and beat him, for real this time."

Yaoyorozu smiled, genuinely this time, "I'm really glad. He could stand to go down a peg or two, truth be told. And besides, I think Todoroki or Iida would both rather fight you than him."

Izuku chuckled before the loudspeakers announced, "Todoroki wins. Midoriya and Bakugou to the stage."

"Already? Must've been a short match." Yaoyorozu noted.

 _Yeesh. I hope Iida's okay._ _Man, it sucks when your friends lose, huh?_ "Well...I guess that means it's my turn to go out there." Izuku waved goodbye.

"Good luck! I'm rooting for you!" She waved him off with a smile before it, unbeknownst to him, promptly fell.

As Izuku walked to the stadium entrance, his heart racing a million miles an hour, he came across yet another friendly face, "Oh, Iida!"

The tall teen smiled, "Hello, Midoriya. I suppose your match is about to begin."

Izuku nodded, "Yeah. But sorry about your fight. I know how badly you wanted to win."

Iida waved it off, "Of course winning would've been nice, but I'm honestly just content to have done right by my brother. I did my best and that's all I could've honestly hoped for."

"Right. I feel the same!" Izuku grinned at his friend. _Wow. He's being_ _very_ _mature about this!_

Then Iida started shaking violently.

"Gah! What's wrong?!" Izuku started panicking. _Oh god, he's having a mental breakdown!_

Iida simply took his phone out, "I'm receiving a call."

 _What kind of a reaction was that?! And why's everyone getting phone calls right now?_

"It's my mother. Sorry I need to take this. And you need to go. Best of luck, Midoriya!" Iida waved his friend off as he went down the hallway.

With a wave goodbye and one more deep breath, Izuku turned around and exited the hallway, once more walking onto the grassy path leading to the battlefield. He climbed the steps and gulped in anticipation. Or nervousness. Likely both.

Across the battlefield, Bakugou had also just walked onto the stage. Their eyes met, and time seemed to freeze. This wasn't an argument by the gate or a training exercise or a confrontation in the street.

This was a true and proper fight.

Not between old friends or enemies. This was - to paraphrase Uraraka - a fated battle between rivals.

With one final deep breath, Izuku stepped forward.

* * *

 **Aaaaaand, I'm leaving you hanging.**

 **Sorry this shit took so long but truth be told, some of this chapter was just...hard to write. I guess that's to be expected when I decide to make most of the battles in the Sports Festival original, but MAN am I excited for what's to come!**

 **Remember to submit questions for the celebration chapter! The way things are going, it'll also celebrate 100K words so WOOOOO.**

 **Or tell me the idea is stupid and tell me what you REALLY wanna see.**

 **And in case you missed it, I'm writing a Spider-Man story as well, but I probably won't actually publish it until after the Stain Arc** **or** **the Exam Arc, at which point this story will be at a rough half-way point and I can take a little hiatus to focus on other stuff.**

 **Which is NOT to say that the story's already got a definitive ending, but I've only planned ahead a certain amount and it already feels like such an organic ending. Maybe it'll just be another hiatus point, but we'll see.**

 **Next chapter should be up...before the year is over. I can promise THAT at the very least.**


	15. Katsuki and Izuku

**Well I got the chance to work on this earlier than I thought since SOME PEOPLE CAN'T FOLLOW A SCHEDULE! (my niece was born a few weeks early so I don't need to spend the weekend in a hospital yay).**

 **Anyways, let's get to it!**

* * *

 **Q &A**

 **Akuma-Heika** **: So the assumption was that Eri was getting her nutrition from the garbage. Gross, I know, but she was desperate and didn't know any better.**

 **Also, as for there being 12 billion people in the Quirk database, about 55 million people die every year so in a hundred twenty years (which is VERY conservative for having 80% of the world get Quirks), there'd be around 7 billion dead people. Then there's 130 million people born each year so in a hundred twenty years, that's nearly 16 billion people. Even accounting for people who wouldn't have Quirks and the fact that both rates** **should** **go up, there could still be 12 billion people with Quirks. Or it's just a number and let's leave it at that.**

 **Quime Valles** **: Umm...what?**

 **Tsunashi777 & GJMEGA** **: Izuku's lightning is visual and he can't control it at all. In this story, Chidori is just a super-powerful palm-strike or karate chop, not the electric-based attack like in Naruto. But I'm also a shit writer so my continuity changes every chapter.**

 **sremiehzla** **: SSSSSSSSEEEEEENNNNNNPAIIIIIIIIIII!**

 **origamishishou** **: Dude...yes. Eri cuddles are best cuddles.**

 **adislt** **: Stain attacked Ingenium because he attacked him first. But I think he avoided killing Ingenium because he knew he wasn't a bad person. He might not have thought he was a true hero like Deku, which is why he paralyzed him, but I don't think Stain hated Tensei like he hated Tenya.**

 **The Random Enigma** **: There are gonna be pairings! And after this fucking tournament, I can ****finally** **get around to exploring them in a unique way.**

* * *

 _Chapter 15: Katsuki and Izuku_

* * *

"Ahem." Aizawa cleared his throat directly into the microphone, "Principal Nezu, do you have any commentary before we begin?"

"Now, now, Shota. You sound so robotic! Try not to speak like you're reading off of note cards." The principal chided.

"I am reading off of note cards. The note cards you wrote for-"

"Semantics!" Nezu exclaimed, "Any-who, I have absolutely no idea who either of these two students are so why don't you take care of the commentary, Eraserhead!"

"…Then why did you write me a card asking you to commentate?"

There was no answer.

"…Fine. Bakugou is nothing short of a combat genius. His instincts, physicality, and Quirk are all perfectly suited for battle. His biggest limitation is his ferocity and that's honestly a bigger blessing in this tournament than a handicap.

"Midoriya, on the other hand, is an analytical fighter. His Quirk and natural wait-and-see mindset make him perfect for counterattacking. But if and when he gets overwhelmed, he tends to lose his composure and go all-out."

Nezu's voice suddenly popped in, "Oo! I remember him now! He's the reason our infirmary is so poorly stocked nowadays, right?" _And the one All Might passed One For All onto._

The displeasure was evident in Aizawa's tone, "Yeah, Midoriya's Quirk tends to backfire." Then the teacher's voice picked up, "But so far, his performance today is miles ahead of where he was just a few weeks ago."

"Wow, kind words from Eraserhead! So do you think he'll win today?"

"No."

"…care to explain why?"

Aizawa groaned, but relented, "These two have a history. For Bakugou, it's a furious motivator to dominate. For Midoriya, it's a desperate desire to match the other. In the battle between these two, specifically, Bakugou's trying to win and Midoriya's trying to prove himself. One's certainly more noble than the other, but that's not gonna do a lot of good when your opponent's dead set on crushing you."

* * *

Bakugou stretched his legs out with his elbows as his teacher and the principal continued their commentary. Based on the audience's reaction, it must've been interesting, but he couldn't be bothered to pay attention.

He'd been waiting for this fight since the Battle Trial and he wasn't about to get distracted now. Hell, you might say he'd been waiting for this fight since he was four years old, staring down the extended arm of his best friend as they both stood in that river.

" _It's because I'm jealous of you!"_

His eyes met his opponent's, who was also getting in a last-minute stretch, his expression just as determined as Bakugou felt.

" _I'm going to show you that I can surpass you!"_

Bakugou wasn't stupid by any means. He understood what Deku felt. Why he kept chasing him despite the decade of abuse and torment. Their argument at the UA gates had seen to that. He knew that this battle wasn't about sorting through what exactly their issues were.

Midoriya understood Bakugou's inferiority complex and Bakugou understood Midoriya's jealous admiration.

This battle wasn't about laying their cards out.

It was about finishing the damn game.

"Kacchan!" Midoriya spoke first, standing up straight after completing his warm-up, "You told me I wasn't a match for you then. I'm gonna show you how far I've come since!"

Bakugou sneered, "Please. You think being a little faster and making your hand glow makes you strong enough to beat me? Fuck off. I'll finish you in two moves!"

* * *

In the stands, Class A collectively sucked in a breath.

Kaminari shivered, "Man, this is literally my second-least favorite match-up! These two are crazy."

"Who's your least favorite?" Jiro asked, earphone jacks at the ready in case he said something...problematic.

"Dude. Bakugou and Todoroki. They'd fuck the stadium up."

Kirishima gulped, "I can feel how tense those two are. That's so freaking manly!"

Uraraka pounded her fists, "I know, right?! Who're you rooting for Kirishima?"

"Jeez, I don't know! I mean, Midoriya's my guy, but Bakugou's my bro! It's a real struggle!"

Mina poked his cheek, "Boo, Kiri! That's no fun! We're all part of the Bakusquad, right? We need to support our leader!"

"...Bakusquad?" Uraraka cocked her head.

Mina nodded enthusiastically, "Cute, right? Just came up with it! It's me, Kiri, Sero and Kaminari. Oh, and Bakugou, duh!"

"Wait, how did I get roped into this?" Kaminari twitched at the thought of having to associate with the fiery-tempered blonde.

The pinkette waved his words away, "Oh Kaminari, don't get caught up in the minutia of it all and just enjoy life!"

"That doesn't answer my question!"

Kirishima smiled fondly at his friends before turning back to Uraraka, "Well I guess that settles it. What about you? You're Team Midoriya, right?"

She nodded fervently, "Of course! Dekusquad all the way!"

Aoyama suddenly appeared next to the brunette, absolutely twinkling, "And me, mademoiselle!"

"Jesus, dude! How do you even do that? Like is part of your Quirk teleporting?" Kaminari joked, receiving a considerable death glare in response.

"Kaminari, I can't believe you would betray Les Trois Cassétaires like that! You're the opposite of a silly boy! You're...a dull boy!" Aoyama huffed, flapping a cape that appeared out of thin air...somehow.

"Dude, I didn't ask to be on the Bakusquad...dammit, now I'm saying it!" Kaminari mentally face-palmed.

Jiro turned to the electric-type, "Les Trois...what?"

Kaminari groaned, "It's some stupid club Aoyama made for us and Midoriya. We all hurt ourselves with our Quirks so...man, it's dumb."

"We made friendship bracelets." Aoyama brandished his wrist, adorned with a lightning-bolt themed bangle.

"And they were supposed to be private." Kaminari hissed, blushing as his classmates examined - or in Jiro's case, laughed uproariously at - the bracelet he designed for Aoyama.

After getting in a proper dose of ripping on Kaminari, Uraraka turned to the higher bleachers, "What about you guys? Who else is on the Dekusquad?"

Tokoyami raised a hand, "Midoriya allowed me to get this far. I won't neglect his good deed by denying him support now."

Tsuyu followed suit, "Midoriya's nice. Ribbit."

Presumably, Toru was raising her hand as she chirped, "Ooh, I like Midoriya...or at least I like his sister!"

To some's surprise, Yaoyorozu chimed in as well, "Midoriya's proven a good friend. I don't wish to choose sides, but..."

Then to everyone's surprise, Todoroki raised his hand. Perplexed by his classmate's shocked faces, he elaborated, "I want to beat Midoriya myself."

"You won't get the chance." Tokoyami smirked, egging his classmate on, only to receive nothing but a small huff in response.

Meanwhile, Mineta glowered, "Dammit, Midoriya! You got most of the girls on your side! I swear...I'll never forget this! And I'll never forgi-GAH!" The grapist fell silent as a tongue whipped across his face in a vicious smack.

"Shut up. It's about to start. Ribbit."

* * *

Midnight climbed onto her stage and prepared her whip, "Alright boys, I know you're both excited to get on with it, so I'll make it quick. You two ready?"

Both contestants nodded.

She waved her flail, "Start!"

For a moment, neither of them bothered to move, as if daring the other to act first.

Then there was a bright flash from either side and a veritable cascade of explosive sound.

Izuku dashed over Bakugou, who was rocketing forward himself, green lightning arcing across his body at breakneck speed or to the speed of his own heartbeat.

Bakugou skid to a halt, as did his opponent. They turned to face each other with a roar, the former brandishing an already-glowing right palm while the latter cocked his fist back.

It was the explosive teen's move though, as the blast sent Midoriya flying back to the opposite end of the stage, saved from a ring-out only by his desperate clawing.

Panting, Izuku righted himself and shook his body free of the jolt from that last blast and his mind free of the jitters that remained. _This is happening! This is_ _really_ _happening! Let's think: with Full Cowl, I'm about as fast as him. With the Sharingan, I can keep track of his movements. No problem. Just like any other fight!_

Bakugou got onto the balls of his foot and let his palms crackle a little bit to relieve themselves of the excess sweat that was building up from his sheer anticipation. _Deku's fast...not as fast as me at full speed, but those eyes of his are a real problem. Good time as any to use_ _that_ _move._

Bakugou sneered as he shot forward once more.

The Sharingan flared to life and Izuku instantly began to move to the side, his eyes trained on Bakugou's advancing form and his outstretched hands. _If I can go around this explosion, I can catch him off guard._

Izuku pushed himself to the side then immediately forward, moving around his foe in two quick bursts of speed. He pulled his fist back again and waited, time moving in slow-motion thanks to his ocular Quirk.

 _Right when he notices me and turns, that's the perfect angle to hit him! We're so close to the edge, I might even get a ring-out on him, too!_

True to Izuku's plan, Bakugou turned his head around slightly to get a good look at his adversary, only to catch a fist straight to the jaw. Spittle and a slight, but respectable - for Izuku at least - amount of blood flew from Bakugou's jaw as he gasped in pain.

But his jaw morphed beneath Izuku's fist into a savage grin. Then the entire battlefield lit up and a shrill ring filled the air.

Izuku shut his eyes and clutched his ears, both sensory organs screaming in pain. _What was that?! How did Kacchan do that?_

"HAH! MY BODY'S BEEN DEALING WITH THE RECOIL FROM MY EXPLOSIONS FOR YEARS! IT'LL TAKE MORE THAN SOME WEAK-ASS PUNCH TO KNOCK ME DOWN!"

There was another, more sonorous boom as Bakugou gripped his opponent's right forearm and shoulder and hit them both with some of his most powerful explosions. Izuku roared as he went flying back, feeling his forearm sear and his shoulder dislocate.

He landed painfully, unable to open his eyes, barely able to hear, and completely floored by the pain in his arm. Tears threatened to flood his aching eyes and he vaguely noticed his erratic breathing growing worse by the second.

"D'ya like that, Deku?! Made that Stun Grenade move especially for you. All I had to do was make the explosions as big as I could while limiting the power and BOOM: perfect counter for that stupid Quirk!" _Real flashbangs can make you blind for up to ten seconds. So with those extra-sensitive eyes, Deku's gotta be out for a while!_

Izuku felt his head get fuzzy from the pain or the lack of oxygen or some grim combination of the two. _Dammit, breathe! Do_ _not_ _go into shock!_

* * *

All Might gripped his hair nervously, his heart hammering at the sight of his pupil's collapsed form. _Young Bakugou wasn't kidding; that two-move combo was nearly flawlessly executed to target Young Midoriya's weaknesses. But he can't go down from that...he's worked too hard for this._ "Get up. Get up. Come on, dammit!" All Might muttered under his breath.

In the stands below, Inko was tightly gripping her daughter, barely able to stomach the sight of her son in distress. Eri wriggled uncomfortably when the jumbotron displayed a close-up of Izuku's pained expression.

* * *

Midnight eyed the heavily-panting, heavily injured student on the ground, "Midoriya, can you still go on?"

 _Yes! Just say it! Grit your teeth and say it!_

"Tsk. DAMMIT DEKU, GIVE ME SOME TROUBLE! WHAT? CAN'T DO SHIT WITHOUT YOUR CAPTURE TAPE, IS THAT IT?!"

 _Come on, it doesn't hurt_ _that_ _bad! Stop breathing so fast, just get up and keep going!_

"Tsk...so much for making that power your own."

 _...the 'borrowed power'...he remembered..._ _All Might's power...All Might_

Izuku succumbed to shock and blacked out.

* * *

" _Get up, Izuku._ "

Izuku opened his bleary eyes in the darkness and saw nothing.

Nothing save for eight shadowy figures lined up side-by-side, their features hidden besides their piercing eyes.

 _The one furthest to the left looks...familiar._ Izuku noted the figure's shaggy hair and frail form.

It was the one to the farthest right, however, that spoke for the figures, reaching out to Izuku with a shadowy hand.

" _Fight on, Izuku. You carry the will of all of us._ "

 _I...I promised All Might. I promised Kacchan._

" _Remember Izuku: you are_ _not_ _alone._ "

* * *

Izuku gasped and scrambled to his feet, Full Cowl surging back to life while the Sharingan flared across his irises. "I'm okay! I can keep going!" _What was_ _that_ _? How long was I out?_

Midnight eyed the teen suspiciously. _He looked like he went into shock but now he's raring to go?_ She nodded at him to continue the fight, but muttered into her earpiece, "Cementoss, let's get ready to stop the fight, just in case."

Bakugou stared at his newly-revived opponent. _Deku looks like he's about to faint and suddenly he just shoots up? Damn..._ He burst into a wide grin, "NOW THIS IS INTERESTING!"

Then a flash of neon green passed through the red of Izuku's eyes, giving Bakugou pause.

Unfortunately for him, Izuku was as serious as he could get at the moment, "Detroit Smash!" Without a moment's hesitation, he rocketed forward and sent Bakugou reeling with a strong left jab. Learning from his mistake last time, however, Izuku quickly pulled back and kept some distance, eyeing his opponent as carefully as he could.

The blonde wiped some blood from his mouth and winced slightly. _Damn nerd punched the same spot. He's trying to wear me down, huh? Time to let him have it!_

Bakugou exploded forth and seized Izuku's shirt in the blink of an eye, "HERE'S THAT THROW YOU LIKE TO USE!" He pulled the greenette over his shoulder with all of his force, preparing to blast him into the ground the second he was off of the ground.

Then a hand gripped the back of his neck strongly.

Izuku's eyes were operating faster than they ever had before. _It's like everything's even slower than before! And I can see a few moves ahead, not just one or two. What's happening? Dammit, ignore that for now! Time to put my training to good use!_

Once he seized the back of Bakugou's neck with his good hand, he quickly arched his back and bent his legs down, so he'd land on his feet. And once he did, he pulled on Bakugou with all of his force while simultaneously crunching his abdominals, so his knees could wrap around the former's neck.

 _I'm not alone! Ojiro taught me how to beat that throw. And Ashido made me flexible enough to do_ _this_ _!_

Izuku yelled as he slammed his legs, and Bakugou's head with them, into the ground. He got back to his feet and jumped away to take stock. _Right shoulder is dislocated...but is that the..._

Beneath the surface of his skin, he'd always been able to vaguely make out some of the musculature with his Sharingan. But now, the muscle appeared somewhat...clearer. And beneath that, he could see the faint outline of...

 _Bone...I can see my bones?! How?! What the hell hap...FOCUS!_ He mentally slapped himself before pulling his right arm over the back of his head with his other arm. _Okay, I can see my arm lining up with the socket. One little tug and..._

He pulled his right arm towards his left shoulder and felt a strong POP as well as a flash of incredible pain. But it quickly subsided, and he could see, and feel, that his arm was back. _Yes! I LOVE my Quirk!_

Unfortunately, his forearm was badly burnt and stung with the familiar ache of a fracture. _No punches for me. But there are other ways to win. Krav Maga videos, don't fail me now!_

Bakugou was just now getting up, his head buzzing from the impact. "D-DEKU!"

Needless to say, he was pissed.

"STUN GRENADE!" He roared as he fired another large flash-bang.

 _I saw that coming a mile away!_ Izuku cheered as he cupped his ears and kept his eyes closed. Not wanting to risk opening his eyes yet, Izuku jumped forward 'blindly'.

 _HA! Dumbass!_ Bakugou kept quiet to avoid giving his position away but congratulated himself as Deku attacked with his eyelids firmly shut. Moving to the side, he readied an explosion right as his opponent landed.

Suddenly, Izuku shot to the side, exactly where Bakugou was, and caught the explosive teen with a powerful elbow to the ribs.

"What the fuck?!" Bakugou gasped as the wind exited his body.

"You're probably used to it so you didn't really notice, but," Izuku opened his eyes triumphantly and grinned, "nitroglycerin has a scent like sugar. So after an intense fight-" Izuku uppercut Bakugou's exposed right underarm, dislocating the appendage in retribution, "-you smell just like caramel!"

* * *

Kaminari's eyes bulged, "Dude, I love everything that's happening right now."

* * *

Bakugou growled in pain as his arm pressed against some nerves, but ignored the ache to launch a powerful blast that scorched much of the field beneath and around him, forcing Deku back.

"Ack!" Izuku hacked and coughed from the acrid smoke, but could barely contain his elation at seeing his lifelong tormentor finally on the ropes. _If I keep using my right elbow, I won't be at much of a handicap at all from the burns. Despite the dislocation, he can still fire explosions off. I know he has a bit of blowback though and that last blast wasn't even big and it definitely hurt; he's shaking, slightly at least._

He charged ahead, a furious smile plastered across his face. _So if I wanna stop his explosions, I need to_ _really_ _damage his arms!_

Recalling the session Ojiro spent drilling Wing Chun into him, Izuku got in close and furiously beat down on his weakened opponent, using his elbows and shoulders to keep Bakugou's arms on the outside, preventing any direct explosions.

After a particularly devastating series of blows to his biceps and elbows, Bakugou roared and headbutted his foe, sending the latter reeling. "D-DAMN YOU, DEKU!" His arms were killing him, his jaw was sore, and now his brain was pounding against his forehead. He'd never been beaten this bad.

But goddammit, Katsuki was having fun.

"I can't believe that 'Quirkless Deku' of all people is gonna make me do this, but you earned it!" With a ferocious snarl, Bakugou pushed through the pain and fully extended both arms at his still-floored opponent, "NOW DIE!"

From both arms, he fired the largest explosions he ever had before, their combined strength eclipsing even that of the one he used against Uraraka in the round before. Bakugou roared as the blowback from his attack ripped his muscles apart, but he maintained his footing and followed through.

The smoke hung around for a while, blanketing the field in an ashy fog. For several seconds, there was nothing but the fading boom, the sound of rubble falling back to earth, and - much to Bakugou's chagrin - the smell of caramel.

Then Izuku burst from the side, enveloped in the glow of his Quirk. _If I hadn't moved when I did, I would've been toast! Even then, I was still down for a bit! But that's the worst of it._

"It'll take more than that to get me, Kacchan!" He cried triumphantly as he made another mad dash towards his lifelong opponent.

The latter tried to lift his arms but felt them scream in protest. _Gah! Overdid it that time. Dammit, move!_ Bakugou settled for a kick, which Deku swiftly dodged while kicking out the former's other leg.

 _Hagakure said the best attacks when you get your opponent off guard are fluid combos that chain together like a dance._ _And thanks to Ashido, I really know how to dance!_

Spinning quickly, Izuku swiped a chunk of cement from the ground and slammed it into Bakugou's head, breaking skin despite the latter's insane toughness.

Katsuki howled and fired a series of weak, but rapid explosions from his palm that forced his opponent back once more, a particularly nasty one catching Deku on the back. He coughed up some blood and struggled to get up, his vision blurring from the repeated head trauma.

Izuku panted heavily, his lungs screaming from the repeated smoke inhalation, his entire body burnt and aching heavily, his eyes sore from the encroaching limit of the Sharingan. _I attacked his head repeatedly, practically disabled his arms and he's_ _still_ _not down!_

"K-kacchan..." Izuku coughed, staring at his foe with one eye shut as blood from where he was headbutted earlier started seeping over the organ, "...this is why I admired you so much. Nobody else wanted to be a hero as much as you did. Nobody worked as hard for it as you did."

Bakugou sneered, "If that's the case, why are you even here?!"

"Because..." Izuku clenched his fists as Full Cowl surged around him, "...I want it even more than you do!" He stared at his opponent with a gaze that would make lesser men run screaming, "First, I'm going to make you acknowledge me as a hero! Then, I'll surpass you!"

He took off into a run, stumbling at first before pushing past his exhaustion to break out into a full sprint.

Bakugou looked at his opponent - no, rival - and steeled his resolve. _So he wants to be better than me?_ "GIVE ME A BREAK!" He roared as he opened his palms downwards and fired, skyrocketing up.

"I'M JUST GETTING STARTED!" Bakugou fired a carefully timed series of explosions from either hand, spinning faster and faster and faster until he was surrounded by a swirling, raging column of wind.

Izuku's jaw would've dropped had it not been captured in a grin. _This is it! He's pushing past his limits and his injuries...to take_ _me_ _down! He's actually going all out! No...this is going beyond even what he's capable of!_

His arms felt like they were going to fall off, but Bakugou wouldn't stop now. Not when Deku was just getting fired up. "HOWTIZER-" Bakugou aimed his hand at his opponent and fired one more massive blast, "-IMPACT!"

Izuku jumped up to meet his foe and thrust his right hand forward, the burns vanishing beneath the furious glow and crackle of green lightning, "Chidori!"

The two attacks collided in an ear-splitting BOOM and the shrieking cry of a thousand soaring eagles. The blast wave cascaded across the stadium, sending Midnight flying off of her stage and coursing past the spectators in a violent torrent of power.

The smoke and dust took a long time to settle down, much to the spectators' dismay, but once it cleared, both figures were clearly visible, one on top of the other.

Katsuki panted heavily as he pinned Izuku down, one foot stepping on his left arm, one shin holding down both legs, one hand keeping pressure on the right arm, and the other hand pressed securely to his face. Deku would've been impressed by the efficient hold had he not been so exhausted.

For a bit neither of them said anything, too focused on catching their breath. Then the blonde choked out one last sentence, "I...win."

Then, Katsuki fell to the side and collapsed limply, completely unconscious.

Izuku was stunned but slowly stood up, wincing when he felt his right arm shift. He looked to the silent crowd, the frazzled-Midnight, his wide-eyed mother and sister, the vague outline of his mentor and the colorful bunch that was his friend group.

 _...finally..._

He raised his left arm above his head and grinned, his Sharingan fading away as the six tomoe retreated into his pupils beneath a glistening layer of tears.

 _Finally._

The crowd erupted into uproarious applause and cheers while Midnight proclaimed for everyone to hear...

 _Finally!_

"Izuku Midoriya wins!"

* * *

Todoroki walked down the hall leading to the field. Bakugou and Midoriya had decimated the field so it was a bit of time before Cementoss had it ready to go again. But now that it was, it was his turn.

Still, he had trouble getting the preceding battle out of his mind. The fight was spectacular in every sense of the word, like something you'd see in a Sci-Fi or Superhero movie. But it wasn't the sheer spectacle that captured his attention. It was the pose Midoriya struck to celebrate his victory. With one arm raised triumphantly over his fallen foe...

 _He reminded me of-_

"Shoto."

Todoroki's eyes narrowed and his fists instinctively clenched. Without even bothering to turn around, he knew who his visitor was. You didn't even need to feel the intense heat that accompanied him.

Ironically, it was the ice in his voice that gave it away.

"...what do you want?"

Endeavor sighed, "Look, this rebellious phase of yours has gone on long enough. It's time to grow up and start using your flames."

"No." Turning only enough to send his best death glare at his father, Todoroki spat, "I'll never use my left side in battle!"

The Number 2 Hero sighed, "Fumikage Tokoyami."

"What about him?" The heterochromic teen eye's narrowed.

"His weakness...you see it, yes?"

Todoroki looked away again, already predicting the direction the conversation was headed, "What about it?"

"With your Quirk, you could end the battle in seconds. Instead, you choose to limit yourself to half of your strength. If this was a real battle against a villain, it would be blatantly irresponsible not to use your full power!"

"Shut up!" Todoroki yelled, fists shaking. "You, of all people, do not get to lecture me about heroism! I'll defeat Tokoyami and then I'll beat Midoriya and then...you'll be nothing to me. I'll become a better hero than you ever were and just with Mom's power."

Rage passed across the Flame Hero's face, but quickly vanished for smugness, "Really think it'll be that simple? That boy has power commensurate to All Might. If you seriously think you can match that by limiting yourself, it'll be your loss."

"I thought my loss was your loss, right? I'm just your tool, after all." Todoroki remarked coldly before continuing his march towards the grass and the rebuilt battlefield.

Behind him, Endeavor growled before sighing in resigned frustration and walking back to the viewing area.

Todoroki stepped onto the concrete and nodded his go-ahead to Midnight. Right off the bat, Tokoyami sent Dark Shadow forward in a quick straight-attack.

Easily side-stepping it, Todoroki slammed his right foot into the ground and narrowed his eyes at his opponent. _Sorry, but I need to blow off some steam._

* * *

Recovery Girl growled as the stadium crowd began cheering, presumably for the other semi-final battle. Just what she needed: another injured kid.

"What. Were. You. Thinking?!" She barked at the two teens - no, children - in front of her. Pointing a cane at the recently-reawakened Bakugou, she hissed, "You have a Grade 3 concussion! Probably some brain damage, though that might be a preexisting condition considering what you decided to do to your arms!"

Bakugou looked away and huffed but muttered something that sounded vaguely like an apology. Izuku snickered, which was a mistake.

"And you!" Recovery Girl growled, "Your arm - your already damaged and crooked arm - is broken, AGAIN. And for some reason, all of the skin on it is either burnt or ripped off by that idiotic attack you seem to enjoy relying on! Don't even get me started on the state of your lungs or your back. Do you understand the meaning of the word 'careful' or should I send you back to elementary school? Based on your judgement, you both might belong there!"

"S-sorry." Izuku gulped before lying back in his bed, eyelids already dropping as his body finally got some much-needed rest. Next to him, Bakugou was doing much the same in his own bed, blinking quickly in a vain attempt to stay awake.

Recovery Girl sighed. _They're both really exhausted, huh? Well, no more scolding; it's time to play doctor._

She wheeled the now-sleeping/unconscious Katsuki into a separate area and cordoned it off with the curtains. She was about to do the same for Izuku when the door burst open, "Young Midoriya!"

Rushing to his protégé's bedside, skinny-All Might frantically pestered the peeved physician, "How is he? Is he injured permanently again? What can I do to help? Does he need some food? Tell me where to go and I'll do-"

Recovery Girl slammed her cane on the Symbol of Peace's head, "Calm down, would you? This is a hospital room for crying out loud! And Bakugou's sleeping in the back," she hissed.

"S-sorry...but how is he?"

She gave a slight smile. _He's annoying but it's certainly nice to see him so worried about his student. He's_ _nothing_ _like Sorahiko._ Recovery Girl cringed at the memory of the retired-Pro Hero and his...militaristic methods.

"He's not good to be honest. He's too exhausted for me to use my Quirk on him and even if I could, there's a lot of damage that might not even heal completely."

All Might sighed into his hands, "So what can we do to get him ready for the final match?"

There was a solid SMACK as the cane found itself once again slammed against his skull, "You hear that he's got permanent damage and all you can think about is the next round?! YOU are the reason he's even pushing himself this hard in the first place! He's doing this to live up to your expectations!"

"No, you're wrong." All Might's voice was surprisingly quiet and serious, even for his skinny form, "Maybe for the other rounds, he was pushing himself on my behalf, but this fight was his and his alone. And in his defense, he didn't really injure himself much in this fight. He's definitely getting better."

The doctor sighed and sat down, exasperated, "Be that as it may, it doesn't change the fact that he gets injured too often for comfort. Even if I can somehow heal him enough to be ready for the next round, who's to say he won't get hurt even worse?"

"He won't." All Might grinned confidently at his pupil, "That boy's worked his butt off to get to the point where he doesn't need to rely on 100% to win his battles. He might get a few scrapes here and there, but I know he's giving it his all to win and win the right way."

She shook her head, but relented, "Fine. If you're that sure, I'll take your word for it this time. But this better not happen again!" Recovery Girl warned, brandishing her cane threateningly.

He held his hands out and laughed sheepishly, "Got it."

Then the entire stadium shook.

"W-what was that? Was that the match?" All Might dashed out of the room.

 _Finally, some peace and quiet._

The blonde popped his head back in, "Oh, by the way: Midoriya's family and friends are probably headed this way."

"...oh no," Recovery Girl shuddered in preparation.

Meanwhile, behind the curtains in the back, a half-awake Bakugou tried to decipher the fragments of what he had just overheard. _Deku was fighting for someone else? Who was that guy? He sounded...familiar..._

* * *

Aizawa's eyes bulged out of his skull at the gargantuan glacier his student had summoned to immobilize Tokoyami. _I knew Todoroki had a lot of power, but this is...ridiculous._

Even Principal Nezu's aloof demeanor slipped for a momentary expression of utter shock before retreating beneath the familiar, if frustrating, facade of mischievous self-assuredness.

"T-T-Todoroki wins." Midnight chattered through her teeth below, much of her body caked in frost from the overwhelming force of the attack.

 _Her costume's_ _definitely_ _not helping with the temperature. Maybe don't wear a micron-thick bodysuit to a high school event, next time._ He cleared his throat and spoke into the microphone, "We're gonna take a short break to clear the field and then we'll continue with the finals.

Standing up, Aizawa made his way out of the announcer's box, "I'm gonna go check on Midoriya and Bakugou. Still haven't gotten any word if he's good to go for the next round."

Nezu smiled knowingly, "You're allowed to be worried about your students, you know? I wrote about it in one of my books: 'Teaching for Total Du-'"

Aizawa slammed the door shut before the principal could finish and made his way to the hospital wing. On his way, however, he passed a suspicious-looking All Might peeking at the battlefield, "What're you doing?"

He turned around with a start and clutched his chest, "Jeez, Eraser! You scared me half-to-death."

"Pretty sure I'm closer to death between the two of us." He gestured to his thoroughly-bandaged arms and head.

"Heh. Considering who you're talking to, that'd be an accomplishment."

"Hmm. That doesn't answer my question. I thought you'd be fawning over Midoriya or something."

"W-what?! I just wanted to see what the commotion was before heading back-gah!" All Might clamped a hand over his mouth and mentally berated himself.

The mummified hero just shook his head. _Smooth..._ "Look, I don't really care about your guys' weird bond, but is he gonna be able to fight in the next round or not?"

"W-well...umm...hopefully?" The Symbol of Peace's sheepish look and nervous hand gestures didn't bode well.

Groaning in exasperation, Aizawa walked past his colleague and to the medical wing, where he could already make out some sort of loud commotion. He opened the door - no small feat considering his lack of upper appendages - and instantly regretted his life choices.

"MY BABYYYYY!" Inko Midoriya wailed, holding her son to her chest so tightly, it was probably breaking some new bones.

"M-mom...please let me go...it hurts." Midoriya murmured weakly through his mother's sobs.

To the side of his bed, Uraraka and Kirishima were trying their best to coax the older Midoriya into releasing her son. In the corner, Yaoyorozu was playing with Eri, or at least attempting to, given the small child's repeated attempts to scamper into her protector's arms.

 _This...was a mistake._ "Ahem." Aizawa cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention and simultaneously halting their actions, save for Eri who used the momentary pause to run to Midoriya and climb into his bed.

"A-Aizawa-sensei!" Uraraka and Yaoyorozu immediately stood at attention.

He waved them away before walking to Recovery Girl, "Just need to know if Midoriya can continue or not."

"I don't recomm-"

"Yes! I'm good to go!" Izuku exclaimed, panic all over his face at the thought of an early exit.

His teacher looked the boy over. His face had a few scratches and his right arm was wrapped in enough bandages to make a capture weapon. His torso was bare - the tattered remains of his shirt lay on the floor beside his shoes - save for a layer of gauze around his middle. And in between coughing or adjusting his arm, probably for any semblance of comfort, his eyes kept fluttering like he could fall asleep at any moment.

Overall, he looked like shit.

"I doubt that very much." Aizawa remarked. He looked to the matriarch, "What do you think?"

Inko averted her gaze and bit her lip, conflicted emotions passing across her face, "I don't like this, Izuku. I don't want you to keep getting hurt."

Recovery Girl nearly jumped up and down for joy, "Yes! Yes! Finally, some people with sense! He's too tired for me to heal so if he wanted to fight, he'd be going in exhausted and with half of his body broken."

"You'd be against Todoroki, you know." Aizawa added, staring at his student dead in the eyes. He could see the expression in Midoriya's eyes change as he said that. _Makes sense. Putting on a bad show would ruin your chances with the Pros more than a good show would help. And against Todoroki, he'd need to be on all cylinders just to get a s-_

"I'm ready." Midoriya stated matter-of-factly, his gaze steeled.

"...really?" This was a bad idea. Aizawa knew it.

But the fire in the boy's eyes was too much to ignore.

 _Huh. Guess that's why All Might likes the kid so much._ "You have fifteen minutes to get to the field." He paused at the door before turning slightly, "And Midoriya..."

"Y-yeah?"

"...good stuff out there." He exited the hospital room without another word, barely even acknowledging All Might with his ear pressed against the outside wall.

He made his way back to the announcer's booth and nearly fainted at who was there to greet him, "...no...not you..."

* * *

Izuku smiled and prepared to sit up, only to feel a firm hand press him down, "Mom?"

Inko shook her head sadly at her son, "I'm sorry Izuku, but I don't feel comfortable with this."

"B-but Mom! Aizawa-sensei said it was fine!"

"No, he said you had fifteen minutes to get ready. How do you expect to for this," she gestured to his broken body, "to be healed enough to fight by then?"

"But I have to fight Todoroki!"

Kirishima interjected, "Dude, I know you wanna win and all, but this is your health, we're talking about."

"Really, Midoriya. You're a finalist already. The Sports Festival isn't worth doing more permanent damage to your body. Especially in your first year!"

"You guys...it's not that simple." Izuku looked down in frustration, "Todoroki...I can't tell you guys everything but...he needs this. And if I don't go out there, I don't...I don't wanna take that chance."

The room fell into a stunned silence as everyone contemplated what Izuku just laid out. Outside, All Might inhaled sharply, marginally aware of the Todoroki household's problems.

"You're trying to...help Todoroki?" Uraraka squeezed out, flabbergasted at her friend's intentions.

"By kicking his ass?" Kirishima ignored the elbow Yaoyorozu sent his way for the language.

Izuku shrugged, "I don't know what I'm gonna do, to be honest. But I need to set some stuff straight with him and if fighting him is what it takes, then I'll do it."

Shaking her head, Recovery Girl pinched the bridge of her nose, "Be that as it may, your body's in no condition for that. You won't even have the chance to open your mouth if you try to go out there."

Eri looked at her brother curiously. He looked like he was in pain, but his determined expression made it clear regardless that still wanted to help the other boy.

" _I'll protect you if you're scared._ "

" _I promise, it's all gonna be okay now...Because I am here._ "

" _If I can control it, then I could save a lot more people, right?_ "

For weeks, she saw Izuku work himself to the point of collapse, training and practicing his Quirk. And now he could control it! But then why couldn't he save this person?

 _He's hurt...but it's not his fault! He just wants to help people!_

She wordlessly wrapped her arms around her brother. "Deku-nii..."

He looked down at her, "Hmm? What's up?"

Eri tried to speak, but words failed her. Instead, she buried her head in his side and hoped for the best.

 _If I can control it, then I could save the one person that matters._

* * *

Aizawa checked his watch and sighed. _That's time. Don't see him on the field. Sorry Midoriya, but-_

"Wow, Eraser! The other guy's late, huh?"

Groaning, Aizawa replied to his new co-commentator, "You don't have to keep saying that every five seconds. You can be silent, too."

Ms. Joke laughed merrily, "Jeez, no need to be so harsh, Eraserhead! We're dating after all."

"We definitely are not."

"Well Nezu asked me to sub for him so..."

He would've buried his face in his hands if they weren't covered in a cast, "You don't even work for the school. This is borderline treasonous."

"Pft! You're so funny! Maybe I should get Present Mic to come back to listen to your jokes!"

"...let's just get on with it."

She nodded before scratching her head, "So...what do we do if the kid's a no show?"

Aizawa turned on his microphone and cleared his throat, "Ahem. Be-"

"Woah! He's here!" Ms. Joke cried into his microphone, knocking Eraserhead aside.

True to her word, Izuku Midoriya was walking onto the concrete stage, fitted with a brand-new gym shirt and looking healthy, all things considered. In fact, he looked just about perfect.

Aizawa's eyes narrowed. _No bandages in sight. His body's moving normally. How did he get healed so fast?_

On the ground, Izuku locked eyes with Todoroki and nodded. The dual-Quirk user responded by rolling his shoulders and preparing his left foot.

Midnight smiled at the latest arrival and squealed, "Oooooh, I just can't wait to see what delicious image you leave me with this time!" Cracking her whip, she exclaimed as loud as she could, "If both challengers are ready, then let the Final Match of the UA Sports Festival's First Year Stage, begin!"

* * *

 **FINALLY, we're at the last chapter of the Sports Festival. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you didn't...too bad.**


	16. Ignite

**JESUS CHRIST, you all loved the last chapter! Seriously, in terms of numbers (not to be a self-congratulatory jackass) it even out-performed Chapter 1 for reviews succeeding its publication! That's ridiculous, especially considering how many people read the first chapter and promptly denounced me as an untalented, illiterate, no-gainzzz havin' soy boy.**

 **...Or something to that effect.**

 **...Personally, I consider Chapter 15 my penance for Chapter 7's ending...Jesus FUCK that was poorly written...**

 **Also, I can't believe I spent a good** **six** **chapters on just the Sports Festival! Then again, I spent three on the build up to it so...I'm sure it's fine.**

 **Reminder: after this chapter, prepare for more FLUFF! And some resolution to the REAL story arc at hand: what is Jiro gonna do with all that money?**

 **Also, I have an important announcement concerning shipping at the end so if you care about that, you know where to go.**

 **Side Note: IDK if any of you have played "One's Justice" yet, but Shoot-Style Midoriya's ultimate is literally Lion's Barrage. And BOY does that get ma' creative juices flowing!**

 **Side Side Note: Happy No Nut November! Have fun not jerking it for absolutely no reason since there's no medicinal benefit to it, unless you're an actual addict, besides one HELLUVA placebo effect. (Seriously, why do people do this? Just be an adult and rub one out. You know you're gonna be thinking about it more if you don't.)**

 **Side Side Side Note: Happy Thanksgiving!**

* * *

 **Q &A**

 **\- Nothing to note since I personally answered most, if not all, of your questions already.**

* * *

 _Chapter 16: Ignite_

* * *

Todoroki wasted no time in his assault, rapidly conjuring a wave of ice towards his opponent. But compared to the glacier he summoned against Tokoyami, it was a tad underwhelming.

His opponent's response, on the other hand, was anything but; in a flash of green, Izuku circled around the blast and delivered a powerful uppercut to Todoroki's chin, knocking the heterochromic teenager down. Izuku then skirted to where his opponent lay and seized his right arm with both hands.

In a momentary burst of panic, Todoroki activated his entire right side, creating a shell of ice around him that forced Midoriya back, else risk getting encased.

Todoroki rubbed the point where Midoriya had struck him, shivering ever-so-slightly at the momentary overexertion. _He's being aggressive. Smart strategy. Best way to defeat someone with overwhelming power is to make it difficult for them to even use it._ _But he's_ _never_ _been this aggressive out of the gate before._ Todoroki eyed the greenette carefully, connecting with his hardened gaze. _That look in his eyes...what is that?_

* * *

 **Fifteen minutes earlier**

Izuku gasped as Eri's horn started sparking and glowing. He could hear the others, namely his mother and Recovery Girl, yell in surprise and shock, but the noise sounded garbled to him.

Then his body suddenly felt very hot. Unbearably so, in fact. As if his very skeleton was being melted.

Then it was cold like he was sprouting an iceberg from his chest.

His body went numb and a flash of light took over his senses.

As suddenly as it all happened, it vanished in a Planck instant.

"W-what?" Izuku stuttered as Eri pulled away, face filled with tears. He hissed as he moved his arm, another brief wave of heat coursing through his body.

"Izuku! Are you okay?" Inko fretted over her son.

Kirishima turned to his friends, "What just happened?" The two girls responded with shrugs and perplexed gazes.

"...well...whatever that was...Eri's horn dislodged some of your dressing." Recovery Girl swallowed her immediate curiosity to address a problem she could actually understand. She moved to her patient's bedside - pushing Inko aside with tremendous effort - and started re-tying the gauze.

Then she stopped with a start as her eyes nearly rocketed from their sockets.

The flesh that had been marred by burns, bruises, and cuts not five minutes ago, was healed. It wasn't even slightly pink like new skin tended to appear; it blended in perfectly with the rest of his body.

Like the wound had never been there in the first place.

Adrenaline and a hint of excitement running through her body, Recovery Girl forced Izuku to sit forward - perhaps too forcefully - and examined his back where the worst damage had been done. Once more, his skin was restored.

Ripping off the bandages on his right arm, Recovery Girl's jaw dropped at the sight of perfectly aligned bone-structure and the shine of clean skin. _That's not possible. This_ _shouldn't_ _be possible! Nearly every layer of epidermis was gone! Even with my Quirk, that's at least a full day of recovery._

"R-recovery Girl?" Izuku asked, eyes widening with every passing glance at his healed limbs.

The doctor gulped and began removing the bandages, "W-well...um...it looks like you're fully healed."

There was a palpable silence in the room. Izuku flexed his arm, marveling at how normal it felt and how profoundly...discombobulating it was to somehow skip the healing process. It was almost like being robbed of the sensation of taste between hunger and satiation.

He ran his fingers over his torso and back, unable to find any seam between layers of skin or the slightest imperfection. No trace of the severe burns he'd endured at his rival's hands. Not even a scar.

He wasn't just healed. The damage had practically been undone.

Izuku turned to Eri, currently burrowing her face into his side, and coaxed her out, "Eri, was this your Quirk?"

She blinked away tears and averted her gaze but nodded.

 _She said her Quirk hurts people, but this...this is the exact opposite! If she can reverse damage done to someone's body, then...that could be an even bigger paradigm shift than All Might!_

"...I just...wanted to help you..." She looked up at her brother and savior and whimpered slightly, "Please...don't be mad."

Izuku looked at the tearful girl and melted, wrapping his arms around her tightly, "...Thank you. Really, Eri, this means so much to me. You mean so much to me. I'd never be mad at you."

She sobbed a little but wrapped her arms around him in turn. Then Izuku picked up on a small detail. "Eri...you're really warm."

Pulling away, Izuku looked the small child up and down, eyes widening at her reddened cheeks and flushed features.

Sensing the problem, Recovery Girl pointed an IR thermometer at the young girl and whistled at the reading, "That's a fever right there. How about we get you some medicine and bedrest, huh?"

The young girl wiped the remaining tears from her face and shook her head. Truth be told, she felt a little weary from willingly activating her Quirk and could definitely use a solid lie-down. Taking the older woman's hand and being lowered off of the bed by her brother, Eri let herself be led to the adjacent bed where she promptly collapsed, immediately letting out soft, yet still somehow sonorous, snores.

Izuku smiled at the sight until he felt a sharp pinch on his arm, "Ow!"

Kirishima rubbed his head sheepishly, "Sorry, just checking that it was really healed."

 _There are definitely better ways to do that._ Izuku sweatdropped before moving to stand up.

"Hey, what're you doing?" Inko moved towards her son.

"I'm all better now and I only have a few minutes to get to the field." Izuku started unwrapping the new UA shirt on his bedside table.

"Um, you sure that's a good idea? Maybe you should wait for Recovery Girl to examine you." Uraraka commented, looking up at the ceiling while Izuku got dressed.

"Seriously, we don't know what happened to you! It's not good to rush into things." Yaoyorozu added, also looking up with slightly-red cheeks, "And have some decency."

"...have you seen your hero costume?"

"K-kirishima! That's completely different!" Yaoyorozu protested flippantly.

Izuku laughed at his friends' antics before stretching his body out, jarring it awake after the extended rest in the hospital bed, "I feel fine, really! Heck, I feel great! I mean, my chest tingles a little bit, but that's no biggie."

Recovery Girl prodded him with her cane, earning a yelp, "Wait to be cleared! What just happened is completely out of my wheelhouse so for all I know, you could explode!"

He yelped at the thought, but Izuku shook the thought of spontaneous combustion from his head, "I mean...I don't think Eri would do that to me."

Uraraka nodded in agreement, "Yeah, she really loves Deku. And that hug at the end was so sweet!" Her perma-blush flared as she remembered the tender moment between siblings.

Kirishima thumbs-upped, "Yeah, that was so freaking sweet, dude!"

The oldest woman shook her head with a groan, "It doesn't matter how...admittedly sweet it was. It's an unknown and that means I need to conduct tests."

"Recovery Girl, please." Izuku practically begged, "I don't have any problems so just let me go!"

She tried to steel herself, but that pleading stare was unbearably nostalgic to when a certain daft, yet courageous blonde would continuously and repeatedly push himself to the point of complete exhaustion in his fervent pursuit of becoming a symbol for society.

 _I'm going to regret this._ "You said you had some chest discomfort?"

"J-just a weird feeling right here. Kinda like pins-and-needles."

"Hmm...well if it's not causing you pain, then I guess you can go participa-"

Izuku dashed out of the clinic before Recovery Girl could squeeze out the last part of her sentence, leaving a rushed 'Thank you!' behind as he raced to the field.

* * *

 **Present Time**

Todoroki conjured another wave of ice, this one smaller but quicker. Rocketing towards the greenette, the crackling ice surged over his head and cascaded downwards like an avalanche.

In response, Izuku jumped over the ice and started jumping from peak to peak like the craggy surface was a series of disjointed stepping stones. _I can track the imperfections in the ice now and find footholds!_

Then, right as he was about to catch the stunned Todoroki with another attack, Izuku suddenly jumped far harder than he expected, soaring over his next foothold and his opponent. Quickly adjusting once he landed on the ground, Izuku jabbed at Todoroki, glancing the other teen on the cheek.

 _What was that? I completely overshot where I was aiming!_ Mentally berating himself, Izuku prepared another assault on Todoroki, only for the latter to seize his shirt and throw him over the shoulder while simultaneously ejecting ice from his right hand, producing a rather powerful force that sent the smaller teen flying back to his side of the field.

Todoroki wasted no time in establishing a breathing pattern, flexing his abdominals on the exhale to completely drain his lungs then relaxing them for the inhalation. In this way, he felt his torso warm up considerably, which gradually spread to his right arm. _Managed to get some ground back there. It looks like he's trying to avoid my attacks and then use speed and surprise to catch me off guard with a decisive blow. Well two can play at that game._

With another wave of his hand, Todoroki sent another flurry of ice at his opponent. Once again, Izuku avoided the attack and dashed to the side, angling his body for a mad sprint across the field.

But in that moment, Todoroki ran forward, his right leg conjuring a ramp of ice that carried him up and over Midoriya. The latter reacted quickly, as always, but the mist and glistening ice reduced his visibility considerably, as according to the former's plan. In his opponent's moment of weakness, Todoroki's leg kicked Midoriya's head to the side before his right arm seized Midoriya's and subsequently froze the entire appendage in a straight bar of ice.

"Gah!" Izuku winced at the sudden and bitter cold before leaping away from the cloud of mist to collect his bearings. _Dammit! His judgement, application, reactions...everything about him is excellent!_ He tried to flex his right arm out of the ramrod-straight position it was frozen into, but could only crack the ice slightly, even with Full Cowl. _I could probably break it if I used the Chidori, but that'd damage my skin. Maybe if I hit it against something..._ He smiled as a plan started taking shape.

Charging forward without waiting for an attack, Izuku pulled his right arm back, feeling his center of gravity shift from the ice's added weight and adjusting accordingly. Todoroki ceased his warming exercises and conjured a wall of ice. However, Izuku used his right arm like a hammer and broke through the barrier, simultaneously shattering most of the ice on his arm.

 _Time to clean up the rest of it!_ He gave a quick momentum-building spin and slammed his arm right into Todoroki's side, knocking the teen back several meters with an audible slam.

Todoroki gasped and clutched his right side. _Definitely broke some ribs. So much for the breathing exercises._ He stood with some effort, only for strong hands to grasp his right arm once more. Instinctively, he again created an ice shell around his body.

Then there was a flash of green, the cry of an eagle, and Todoroki was sent flying towards the grass, saved only by a last-second ice wall from his leg. Dazed, he tried to evaluate the damage. _Humerus is broken for sure. I should be able to use ice if I don't move my shoulder and stick to the forearm. But this_ _and_ _the ribs? He's making it really difficult to use my right side..._

With a start, Todoroki locked eyes with his opponent. Midoriya was panting noticeably. His right arm was red and raw from the ice and it appeared that he also used the same hand for his explosive attack based on the bleeding. But his expression was so...satisfied.

"Why are you doing this?" Todoroki grit his teeth through the pain of standing up.

"What?"

"You're targeting my right side. You could've gone for the head and done more damage but instead, you're trying to disable me. Why?"

"...you know why." Izuku ran forward.

Todoroki might've felt cold, but his blood ran colder. _What is this? What's his deal?_ He activated his right leg and skated around the field, propelling himself forward on a steady stream of ice.

* * *

"Midoriya's got a strategy. He knows Todoroki's power originates from his right side so that's where he's focusing his efforts." Aizawa dryly remarked.

"Ooh. And what's your take on that, Eraserhead?" Ms. Joke responded, her grin positively shit-eating.

The mummified hero glared at his co-commentator, "Why don't you take this one? You're the guest here."

"Psh, making a guest do the hard part? Real classy, Eraserhead. This is why I left you." There was an audible "oooooh" that passed through the audience at that line.

"We never dated."

"I'll say! Lemme tell the fans something interesting: that capturing weapon around his neck is about the only thing he has that can get hard." Once again, the audience let out a collective gasp.

 _She's like if herpes was a person._ "Back to the fight," Aizawa chose to ignore the teasing yet smug expression Ms. Joke sent his way, "it's never a good idea to aim for where the attack is coming from. If you were trying to stop a gunman, you wouldn't punch the barrel. That's borderline suicidal."

"So what's the aforementioned strategy then?"

"No idea." That was a lie. Eraserhead was fully aware that Todoroki had some problems with his home life and that it bled into the fire aspect of his Quirk. Now, Eraserhead hated seeing potential wasted but he also wasn't one to ignore the importance of treating the psyche gently, especially in adolescents. Unfortunately, Todoroki was also so competent that Aizawa really didn't have good enough evidence to assert that not using his left side was actually harming him.

 _I hoped the festival would've challenged you enough to make a change on your own but it looks like Midoriya's going with tough love._

On one hand, Aizawa was somewhat, slightly, marginally, microscopically "impressed" - if that can even describe how truly little he felt - that his student was trying to push his classmate.

 _On the other hand, it's incredibly fucking stupid._

* * *

 _I can see his moves: he's planning on circling around me._ Izuku turned right as Todoroki arced his ice to shoot straight for him.

 _He's going to jump up..._ Todoroki crouched slightly like a leopard about to pounce.

... _and he's gonna try to send some ice from his hand. I'll sidestep it, roll under him, and kick him from behind before he lands and can't steady himself!_ Izuku smiled at his plan and immediately jumped to the side...

...right as Todoroki jumped into the air. _Shit! That was way too early! What is_ _wrong_ _with me?!_ Izuku mentally berated himself and his premature movements right in time to completely get blindsided by a sudden blast of mist from Todoroki's hand, which was pressed tightly against his body to avoid jostling his broken arm.

 _Mist? Wasn't expecting that._ Izuku thought aimlessly before he felt an intense pain in his chest from Todoroki kicking him while conjuring another wave of ice. Thrown back painfully from the blow, Izuku immediately charged the Chidori into his right hand and arced it across the ground, sending several shards of rock and concrete towards Todoroki and hopefully buying some time. _Seriously, what the hell? I can't focus on making Todoroki use his right side if I'm too busy moving like a complete moron!_ He looked around and caught his reflection in a stray shard of ice. With his enhanced vision, he noticed something that made his jaw drop. _My Sharingan...there's an extra mark!_

It took a second for him to register the discovery. _If it's activated by strong emotions...then maybe it can evolve from even stronger ones! That'd explain how I could suddenly keep track of Kacchan during our fight. But then why are my moves so off right now?_ There wasn't much time to think for at that moment, Todoroki emerged from the dust and slammed his foot into the ground, generating an omni-directional wave of ice.

 _Gotta move!_ Izuku leapt up and away from the area of effect and then some, landing dangerously close to the battlefield's edge. _Crap! Crap! Crap!_ He would've fallen over from the sudden movement had he not dug his nails into the ground to the point that they bled in order to steady himself.

 _I think I get it now! The Sharingan evolved but that doesn't mean I'm used to it. I'm not used to this much information so I'm reacting too early or overcompensating in my movements!_

Todoroki slammed his foot into the ground again, this time sending another wave of ice at the greenette.

 _If I can't use the Sharingan, I'm gonna have a lot of trouble wearing him down. But he's already pretty worn out..._

It didn't take a Sharingan to notice the heavy build-up of frost on Todoroki's right side or the intense shivering across his body. His chin had a rather nasty bruise

 _If I try to make him use his right side without the Sharingan, at this point, I'd lose. But if I change my strategy and just try to knock him down with Full Cowl, I could win!_

The ice was getting closer and closer.

 _But there's another thing I could do...using a couple Delaware Smashes would definitely pressure him into using his flames._

Izuku's instincts urged him to jump, but giving into his unconditioned reactionary impulses, he'd only make things worse for himself.

 _But if I used 100%...even if I beat Todoroki, it wouldn't be my win...but is that even the point?_

Izuku looked at Todoroki.

 _No, of course it is! All the effort I put in, all the stuff I've gone through to get here...it'd be stupid not to win!_

Their eyes met.

 _...lonely..._

* * *

 **Minutes before the match**

Izuku raced through the hall to the battlefield, whooshing past the waiting room in spectacular fashion. Aizawa was uncharacteristically generous in giving a grace period at all, but Izuku knew that generosity was probably a one-time deal. Tardiness, especially in the final round of the UA Sports Festival, was definitely out of the realm of acceptability for the famously strict teacher.

Which made what happened next all the more inconvenient for the lovable student; Izuku skid to a halt in simultaneous awe and terror as a hulking man in a navy blue supersuit cloaked in fire rounded the corner, staring the greenette dead in the eye. _E-e-e-e-endeavor?!_

"There you are." He was speaking softly but the Number 2 Pro Hero couldn't hide the deep, resounding boom to his voice any more than he could hide in a dark room. But unlike the comforting security that All Might's overwhelming vocals offered, Endeavor's voice just emanated power and not in a good way.

 _H-he's so intimidating!_ "H-h-h-hi." Izuku whispered meekly, the metaphorical fire in his heart ironically snuffed out by the older man's presence.

"I saw your fights. That's some incredible power you got. Kinda like All Might."

"W-well, that's...I gotta get going." Izuku rushed past, sweating nervously. _Is there some sort of genetic trait that makes members of Todoroki's family accuse me of being All Might's illegitimate son?_

As luck would have it, Endeavor wasn't done just yet, "My son has the potential to surpass All Might. He's in a bit of a rebellious phase but you, I think you might be able to knock some sense into him. So give it your best shot." He started walking off, each footstep thundering throughout the narrow halls.

"I'm not All Might."

Endeavor turned around, raising a flaming eyebrow, "Huh? I mean that's obvious."

"And Todoroki isn't you."

The fire around the Pro Hero's face surged momentarily as anger flashed across his gaze. Sensing the changed mood, Izuku hurried off, his own internal fire revitalized with a vengeance.

* * *

Todoroki's eyes narrowed before widening as his ice was suddenly blown back by a powerful, concussive force. A wave of cold wind soared past the field and the audience, making everyone in the stadium shiver.

"Jeez, what was that?" Ms. Joke commented, surprise dominating her normally aloof tone.

Aizawa's disdain was clear as day in his voice, "...I think Midoriya changed his strategy."

Izuku groaned as he pulled his left hand back, his middle-finger red and swollen from the fracture. _Dammit, that hurts! But it sure as hell worked!_ He morphed his pained expression into a wild grin as Todoroki's shocked look came into view. But that surprise didn't seem to last long, quickly replaced by a wild frustration, evidenced by the series of ice streams the latter quickly sent Deku's way.

Flicking his index, ring, and pinky fingers in quick succession, Izuku blasted the multi-directional ice away, pure adrenaline and a fair amount of shock blinding his nerves to the pain. _That's my right hand gone. He's wearing down really fast now. A couple more attacks like that and he'll have no choice but to use his left side._

 _Midoriya...he's toying with me!_ With an angry growl that bordered on a roar, Todoroki slammed his right foot and hand into the ground hard enough that the ground cracked slightly. He willed everything he had into this move, at least everything he had left, and it showed; the resulting glacier was truly gargantuan, filling much of the stadium space.

"You gotta be shitting me." Izuku swore, the delirium from the pain and exhaustion bringing out his inner Bakugou. Cocking his left arm back, he punched forward with his full power, shredding his sleeve in the process of absolutely demolishing the ice and thoroughly ensuring that the tens of thousands in attendance would get a cold the next day from the resulting winds.

 _That's it. That's my whole left arm and my right hand._ _Please_ _tell me he's ready to use his freaking fire now._

He wasn't. Todoroki's right side was nearly white with frost and whatever skin he had showing was deathly pale. He was shaking horribly and looked as uncomfortable as one could get. But behind him was a respectably-sized ice wall as well as a few meters of concrete preceding the edge.

 _Goddammit!_ "What don't you get about this?!" The cold was seeping into his bones, somehow worsening the pain of his shattered arm, and his entire body ached. But there was also a small village's worth of adrenaline coursing through his veins so without much thinking, Izuku ran forward, pushing past the chunks of ice and rubble without a moment's hesitation, and promptly headbutted his opponent with his entire body's momentum. Both crashed to the ground with lead-laden skulls, struggling to get up.

Izuku groaned as his broken bones shifted uncomfortably as he twisted his body up into a shaky standing position. Next to him, Todoroki was shaking similarly, his battle-worn body looking more and more like a flipped version of his hero costume.

"W-why? Why are you putting yourself through this?! Did my father put you up to this?" Todoroki sputtered, frost falling off his right side like snow.

Growling, Izuku forced his legs to spring him forward, connecting his broken hand with Todoroki's stomach with 5% of One For All, sending the other teen flying back and knocking much of the frost buildup off of him with the sheer force. Ignoring the screaming agony in his knuckles, he yelled, "Everyone gave this tournament their all…Uraraka, Iida, Yaoyorozu, Kacchan…it makes me really pissed that you think you can just scrape by with only half of your power."

Todoroki wheezed on the ground, placing his frigid hand over his stomach to act as a cold compress as he forced himself back up, "That's not what I'm doing! I'm gonna win with my power, not his."

"How do you still not get it? It's all yours! YOUR QUIRK, NOT HIS!" Izuku roared.

" _It's okay to use your power to become who you want to be."_

 _My power…_

In a brilliant flash of light, a wall of bright orange flames roared to life across the arena, showering the stadium in a warm glow and an almost sweltering heat, much to the audience's shock and awe. At the center of the fire, Todoroki stood tall, a manic grin on his face as the caked-on ice sublimated off of his right side, "Now who's the one who doesn't get it. This is a match, remember? You're not supposed to be helping your opponent."

In the background, Shoto could vaguely make out the booming roar of his father, but that didn't matter right now; in the most perfect case of tunnel vision in history, he was laser-focused on the man standing opposite him, a shaky grin of his own plastered across his battle-worn visage.

 _Izuku…thank you._

* * *

 **BOOM, we're DONE!...sorta…**

 **Look, the arc itself doesn't end until the next chapter, which is fun as hell and mostly done, but I was reviewing this chapter and realized I liked the ending at the conclusion of the fight instead of the awards ceremony. It just felt better to me, albeit shorter. I hope you understand and sorry if you're upset by this. Believe me, if I knew I'd end up cutting the chapter here, it would've been done weeks ago and I could've saved myself a lot of grief.**

 **Onto some big-boy business...you might hate me for this...but I CANNOT decide on pairings! Like...how was I supposed to know it'd be this hard to choose between Yaomomo and Uraraka?!**

 **Yes, the pairing IS gonna be one of these two.**

 **Yes, I have alternate pairings for both.**

 **Yes, the alternate pairing is with the same person.**

 **THE POINT IS: I need help. So, I'm gonna put it to a vote. DEMOCRACY!**

 **Tell me if you think Izuku should be paired with Uraraka or Yaoyorozu. One or the other. Voting starts now! Note that only reviews for Chapter 16 will be counted (mostly to make my life easier since digging through several hundred comments from the last five months is a little time consuming).**

 **Winner gets a lovely fluff scene in Chapter 17.**

 **If your pairing loses, I'm sorry that there's not gonna be any shipping but rest assured that as class cinnamon roll, Izuku's gonna get some love from EVERYBODY. Just more platonic than you might've hoped.**


	17. The Essence of Being a Hero

**Fucking hell, guys…I thought I'd get like 50 responses, not upwards of 400. Y'all really care about pairings, huh?**

…

… **no pressure on me, right? (shit, I hope you don't leave)**

 **In other news, I'm sorry for the delay but turns out writing this specific chapter made me want to claw my eyes out and beat myself to death with them like a set of bolas.**

 **Also, J.R. Smith posted a fucking BEAST of a review that thoroughly eviscerates this story more than Ben Shapiro to a liberal college student. And it's also entirely valid so that made me HEAVILY reevaluate this story so…yeah…I rewrote this more times than I can count…then also decided to split the chapter AGAIN so it'd be more cohesive.**

… **y'all see Game of Thrones?…fuck that broke me for a bit**

 **Side note: I could use a beta reader…for a lot of reasons…**

* * *

 **Q &A**

 **\- I'm not pairing Uraraka OR Yaoyorozu with Bakugou. Calm thy tits, oh triggered ones. And if you wanted that…good for you**

 **\- A lot of you thought I ended the last chapter halfway through the fight or whatever, but I didn't. The fight's done. The rest plays out like canon. As for why…Todoroki's just too good (relative to everyone else). Izuku's still a close-range fighter with insane power but limited efficacy. Todoroki (with both sides) is a long-range fighter with insane power that can essentially revitalize himself by flipping back and forth between ice and fire. Even with the Sharingan and 5% Full Cowl, I just don't see Izuku feasibly winning the fight. He definitely could've won if Todoroki stuck to only ice but…that didn't happen, did it?**

 **\- I haven't given up on the story…clearly…it's just annoying to write certain things and I keep putting it off so I don't have to. Tbh you can probably tell in this chapter but hopefully I'll make up for that in the coming chapters.**

 **\- Some of you suggested that I perhaps am hitting the Mary-Jane, the Devil's Lettuce, the reefer, that sweet-sweet good-good, etc. I feel the need to remind you that I, an intellectual and a devout Christian, do not condone the usage of substances for any purpose or in any fashion. This is a** **family** **show!**

* * *

 _Chapter 17: The Essence of Being a Hero_

* * *

Recovery Girl sighed in a combination of relief and exasperation as she finally sat down after operating on her latest, and most "loyal", patient. In the corner of the room, All Might, in his skinny form, sat with his hands crossed, looking down at the floor in either solemn contemplation or deep shame. Truthfully told, Recovery Girl hoped for the latter after the disastrous performance his pupil put up in the final round.

After squandering his impressive lead in the first half of the fight by breaking his bones with 100% of One For All, Midoriya engaged his opponent in an explosive confrontation that left the battlefield pulverized, Midoriya badly battered, and Todoroki the victor.

Of course, Recovery Girl knew that there was more to the story, especially given how hellbent Midoriya was on "saving" his classmate, based on his impassioned words from before the fight. And she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't impressed by his endurance in said fight. But nonetheless, the injuries he sustained in trying to help someone else were nothing to scoff at and as the doctor, who swore an oath to do no harm, let a student participate in the battle that resulted in those injuries, she felt a small pang of guilt.

"How much longer do you think he'll be?" All Might's voice was soft and gentle, barely above a whisper.

Recovery Girl hissed, "This is his third time receiving serious treatment today! He'll be out for a while."

All Might nodded and went back to twiddling his thumbs, "I'm sorry…I'll be sure to scold him for this."

She sighed into her hand, "Well you can't praise him, that's for sure…I don't like this, Toshinori."

"Hmm?" The blonde perked up at the unfamiliar sound of his own name.

"This behavior he exhibits…it's too reckless. I don't like seeing students get injured this often, especially when it's to live up to somebody else." She looked directly, "This boy idolizes you so much that it's affecting his health and now it's affecting his performance. Both of those things should concern you, right?"

"…I know…"

"So we're clear on what you need to do?"

He didn't say anything in response, either from the weight of Recovery Girl's words or the sound of a young man shifting his paper sheets in a hospital bed, "Young Midoriya!"

The greenette exhaled deeply as the sleep left his eyes and consciousness returned to him. Then he groaned in pain as the aching of his wounds filled his body with quiet agony.

"Easy, sonny. Here, have some gummies." Recovery Girl fed Izuku a small handful of colorful candies with a soft and relieved smile.

He swallowed and nodded gratefully, relaxing back with a comfortable sigh, "Ugh. The match…Todoroki, is he-"

"Hush now, no time for-"

"Is he alright?"

"…some frostbite from overusing his Quirk. He's fine now." Recovery Girl couldn't help but smile.

"Good." Izuku's face slightly relaxed, albeit not much given the amount of pain he was probably experiencing, "My arms…they feel a little weird."

"Well they're still not fully healed. If I did that, you could fall into a coma."

Izuku looked at his right arm, "But it feels different than that…it's like how it felt after USJ."

Recovery Girl sighed before slowly cutting away some of his bandages, "…you sustained more permanent damage to your hand. It's just your fingers but let this be a reminder of how dangerous your Quirk is."

Izuku flexed his unraveled hand and cringed at the slight discomfort he felt in his fingers, now properly matching his already-scarred and crooked palm. _Well at least Eri likes it._

"Wait, Eri!" Izuku sat up with a start, "Is she okay?"

"She's fine. Little bit of a fever but that might just be from the heat. She and your mom were pretty worried though. You might be in for quite a scolding later tonight." She joked, trying to inject some levity.

"Phew, that's good to hear. Any idea how she healed me?"

Recovery Girl shrugged, "I have a few ideas but so far, all I can say is that it's a healing Quirk of some type. More powerful than mine if you were able to go fight right afterwards without feeling tired."

"Oh right…the fight…" Izuku's expression softly morphed as his eyes closed in resignation, "I'm sorry, All Might. I couldn't live up to your expectations." The boy grit his teeth as tears started forming at the corner of his eyes. "I shouldn't have said anything to him…I should've just focused on winning. But he just looked…so…lonely, I just couldn't see around myself."

Izuku opened his watery eyes and stared into the fluorescent lights above, his face scrunching up into a muted sob.

"It's true that I'm disappointed in the end result but saying that won't change anything." All Might mused quietly after a moment's thought, "But you did what you did because you wanted to help him. And at the end of the day, meddling when you don't have to is the essence of being a hero." With that, he bulked up and walked out of the room, pausing only momentarily at the door. The silence that followed the door creaking closed was long and heavy, broken only by the occasional sniffle.

* * *

Midnight stepped in front of the winners' pedestal and cleared her throat. Eyeing the four boys standing on the cement formation, she couldn't help but notice how only Tokoyami seemed happy to be up there – or at least happy by his standards.

Next to him, Bakugou's frustrated eyes wouldn't stop twitching and his hands were buried so deeply in his pockets, you might've thought they'd explode if they came out – which they very well might've.

Midoriya, with his arm in a sling and much of his body wrapped in white cloth on the other end of the pedestal, couldn't take his self-pitying eyes off of the ground, although Midnight wouldn't put it past him to have somehow injured his neck in a way that prevented that motion. _Seriously, how many bandages does UA even have left now?_

Finally, Todoroki, standing in the center atop the first-place tier, kept eyeing his left hand and muttering some sort of melodramatic musing to himself.

All-in-all, they were a sorry excuse for winners and the sadistic dominatrix side of Midnight was all for it. But her own urges would have to wait until after. "Let's get started with the awards ceremony!" She called into her microphone as fireworks erupted over the stadium – ignoring the fact that it was daylight.

The audience, predictably, cheered as Midnight waved her flail towards the pedestal, "In third place we have Fumikage Tokoyami and Katsuki Bakugou. In second, we have Izuku Midoriya. And in first, it's none other than Shoto Todoroki!"

"And to present the medals, we have…"

From atop the stadium, a massive figure cast his shadow over the field accompanied by an equally massive laugh, " **Ha ha ha! I have arrived-** "

The audience near frenzied as they recognized the signature laugh of none other than "…the people's hero, the Symbol of Peace himself, All Might!"

" **-with the medals!** "

An awkward silence filled the air, finally broken by Present Mic's scoff from the background, "HA! AMATEURS!"

While the security detail scrambled to find out how the Pro Hero snuck back in, All Might regained his composure and walked up to Tokoyami, " **Young Tokoyami, congratulations on your performance. Just be aware of and work to overcome your shortcomings and I know you'll reach new heights.** "

Tokoyami bowed, "Thank you All Might." The Pro placed a bronze medal around the boy's neck and gave him a short hug before turning to the next hero.

" **Young Bakugou, very well done. You demonstrated a lot of growth from when you started, but don't forget to-** "

"I got it. Just move on to Deku." Bakugou growled, looking to the side with a scoff.

Sweatdropping, All Might attempted to place the medal on his student's neck only for the latter to shake his head 'no'.

"Forget it, I don't want anything for third place."

" **Heh** …" All Might laughed nervously, " **Umm…why not then take the medal as a sign of your shortcomings today and a reminder to do better next time?** " _Please just take the damn medal._

Huffing, the ashy-blonde reluctantly complied, snatching the medal from the hero's hand and holding it at his side with clear contempt on his face.

 _…Moving on_. All Might then turned to his pupil and felt a tiny pang of guilt at the boy's downtrodden look. Holding the silver medal out, All Might inhaled deeply before speaking, " **You know I can't praise you for your performance in the finals**."

Izuku's already downcast face dropped even further before his hero added on, " **Nonetheless, you managed to both even the score with a rival and help a friend in need. Those are things I can, and will, congratulate you on."**

Getting in close to place the medal around his protégé's neck, All Might whispered, " **Remember, Young Izuku: I'm proud of you**." He pulled back and, with a slight moment of hesitation, softly ruffled the boy's hair.

He then turned to Todoroki in the middle, but whatever he said was lost to the second-place finisher, who had the biggest, dumbest grin on his face.

* * *

"Man, that was a freaking day!" Kaminari groaned, stretching his arms over his head after Aizawa dismissed them from the festival. Class 1-A was currently walking off of the UA premises under the late afternoon sun, carrying light conversation amongst the various groups, save for Todoroki (who was present but quiet), Iida (who left early for something serious, if Uraraka and Midoriya's expressions were any indication), Midoriya (who left with his family), and Bakugou (who just wanted to leave).

Jiro nodded her head in agreement, "Tell me about it. I haven't felt this tired since…probably ever."

"You sure that's not just cuz you're weighed down by all of our cash?" Kaminari retorted, his cheeks red with the embarrassment of getting cheated by the dealer.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Jiro pulled out a massive wad of bills and held them out to her classmates, "I'm not actually gonna take your guys' money like that, you know."

Yaoyorozu put a hand over her heart and smiled with a look that was nothing short of teeth-rotting, "Jiro, you're such a good person."

 _So…pure…_ The class collectively thought as the overwhelming bounciness of their Vice-Representative rejuvenated their tired bodies.

Kaminari took his share of the money and whistled, "But damn, imagine what we could've done with all this money."

As if on cue, Mineta appeared with a twinkle in his eye and a chuckle on his lips, "Hehe, I have an idea of how we could spend that money."

"No." Jiro said, ready to stab him with her jacks.

"But-"

"No." Yaoyorozu cut him off, pulling back her sleeve to create a weapon if need be.

"But-"

"No." Tsuyu added, slapping him across the face with her tongue for good measure.

"…let'sthrowaparty." Mineta said hastily before taking refuge behind Kaminari's leg before anybody could hit him.

To his surprise, however, he was met with resounding – if not tentative – nods.

"That could actually be pretty fun," Sero grinned.

"I could make snacks!" Sato exclaimed excitedly as he began mentally recalling recipes.

"I have some good playlists." Jiro added with a smile.

"Ooh, this sounds really good, guys!" Ashido and Hagakure jumped up and down with excitement. Even Todoroki looked mildly interested at the prospect.

* * *

"Hmm? A party?" Izuku muttered as he opened his phone.

"What's happening?" Inko asked from next to him on the train.

He showed her the text message he received from Kirishima, "Looks like we're having a class party tomorrow. Can I go?"

Wiping away the tears that started accumulating the second she saw that her son got a text from a friend, Inko nodded profusely, "Of course! Do you need me to drive you? What about clothes? Should I cook something for everyone? What're their allergies and restrictions?"

"Heh, I think it's fine, Mom." He waved his left hand to calm her down while the other one, still wrapped in a cast, rested on the gently oscillating shoulder of his sleeping sister.

"Hmm… I can't believe it's only been a little over a month since you started at UA. So much has changed." Inko mused, looking fondly at her two dependents.

Izuku chuckled, "Yeah, Eri really threw us for a loop, huh? But she's really grown quick, right?"

"Actually I think you've changed the most."

That made the younger greenette turn in surprise, "What? Really?"

His mother nodded with a smile, "I guess it's hard to tell if it was starting high school or getting your Quirk or all that training you did but," she paused to rest her head against her son's, "I thought you were absolutely incredible today. I'm really happy with the hero you've become."

* * *

 **Look I know this is short but to be fair, the rest of the chapter was a glorified shitpost. I'd just prefer to keep this one happy and positive and sweet.**

 **Little bit of tweaking required for the next chapter since it's already written but I've got summer exams and you know me…anyway I hope you enjoyed this brief return!**


	18. Optional Chapter: Deku Fucking Dies

**This chapter was meant to celebrate 1K followers…you tripled that in the time it took me to write the damn thing…well done.**

 **And I'm just going to get this out of the way: I don't know if I like this chapter (the title should give it away). It doesn't flow well with the story, it's my type of humor (which I don't think is very popular), and it's not even fluffy enough to be proper fluff IMO. But I promised that I would write a chapter high (nearly a year and a half ago fuck) and by golly, I'll deliver on that. If you aren't sure if you want to read this, I'll have a 'Last Time on Dragon Ball' style recap next chapter, I swar.**

 **But y'all waited enough so please enjoy my extended crackfic.**

* * *

 _Chapter 18: Deku Fucking Dies_

* * *

Izuku smoothed out his shirt in the mirror, his hands shaking with a nervous anticipation. _Okay, shirt's clean. Pants are nice and ironed. Hair's…an absolute mess but that's fine._

He chuckled at the sheen from the hair product he and Eri used to tame – or attempt to – his hair before it eventually returned and locked into its original mane-like shape.

"Izuku, your phone's buzzing!" Inko called from the living room.

"Thank you." Izuku replied as he finished adjusting his outfit and left the bathroom. Grabbing his phone from the coffee table – and greeting his mother with a smile – he opened his messaging app and whistled at the large number of unread notifications. _I don't think I've ever had more than four unopened texts before and that might've just been Iida struggling with autocorrect. Speaking of which…_

He clicked on the speedster's contact to double-check for any response. The prior night and that morning, Izuku had sent several messages asking how his friend was doing in the wake of the news of Ingenium's injury breaking to the public. _Nothing yet…he also hasn't said anything in the class group chat._

And speaking of said group chat, it was currently flooded with lengthy and artfully emoted messages from Hagakure, Ashido, and Kaminari with the occasional reprimanding from Yaoyorozu or reaction from the others.

The reason for such activity: "You ready for the party? Need a ride or anything?" Inko asked with a warm smile.

Izuku shook his head softly, "No, the train should be fine."

"Okay, well if you miss the last train on the way back, you can call me to come get you or you can sleep at Katsuki's house."

Izuku shuddered at the thought of sleeping in the same room as Bakugou considering they were dead-set on breaking each other's ribs about 24 hours prior. And speaking of that, "Oh, don't forget your medication."

"Right. Thanks." Izuku slipped over to the kitchen where he removed two small tablets from an orange pill container he had picked up that morning. Swallowing with a quick glug of water, he shivered at the bitter taste and the memory of getting swarmed by people once the pharmacist recognized him as the Sports Festival runner-up and decided to loudly announce it to the whole world, or at least that store.

His mother chuckled at the sour face he made, "At the very least, I'm glad you're not enjoying the recovery process. Hopefully you'll remember this the next time you decide to do something like yesterday."

"I don't know how many more times I can apologize, Mom." Izuku groaned, somewhere between ticked at her nagging but also touched by her well-meaning. "You and Eri doing anything while I'm gone?"

The matriarch's eyes lit up, "We're gonna have a ladies' night, isn't that right? I'm gonna braid her hair, and do her nails, and have her try on these cute outfits I found for…her…" She sweatdropped at the bored expression on both of her children's faces, "…umm…and we'll make candy apples!"

Eri threw her arms up, "Woo!"

Inko bemoaned her situation _. I know I always wanted a daughter, but this is definitely not what I expected it to be like._ "Oh that reminds me; don't come home too late. You and I need to go grocery shopping tomorrow morning."

"It has to be in the morning?"

"Someone won't eat anything without apples so…"

Nodding with an affectionate smile, Izuku hugged them both before putting his shoes on and walking out, shooting the class chat a quick text to let them know he was leaving his apartment.

He wouldn't return the same.

* * *

 **Three Hours Later**

"FUCKING DEKU! CHUG LIKE YOU MEAN IT!" Bakugou roared, pounding his fists on the table so hard the other cups shook, their clear contents sloshing violently, threatening to spill their astringent scent on the fine mahogany of the Yaoyorozu manor.

The aforementioned Midoriya obliged, tilting his head back a full 180 degrees and allowing the liquid in his cup to flow freely down his throat…and the rest of him. Pulling the empty cup away, he slurred, "I-I didid it," before high-fiving nobody and falling down onto the marble.

"KIRISHIMA, YOUR TURN!" The redhead turned away from the unconscious Midoriya and thumbs-upped as he began frantically gulping his own drink while Kaminari drunkenly protested to the resident judge, Jiro.

"C-come on! He didn't even drink like…a lot of it! And he forgot to do the like…flippy thingy." The blonde swayed back and forth, his arms flailing loosely, contrary to the sternness of his words.

Jiro wagged her finger and blew into her earphone jack like a whistle, which would've made her head ring if not for her copious drinking – how her head would feel in a few hours was anyone's guess – and retorted, "Pichu's disqua- * _burp_ * disqualified for…" She narrowed her eyes in deep thought – or as deep as possible given the circumstances – before bursting into hearty laughter and falling down while Sero spat out his drink to chastise his Flip Cup partner while Kirishima finished his and promptly began trying to turn the cup over.

* * *

 **One hour earlier**

Mina chuckled maliciously as she held up a white and blue box, her pink cheeks dusted a vivid lilac, "Hey guyssss! We should play the Pocky game!"

Bakugou instantly stood up and threw his cup to the ground, "I GOT THIS!" Without missing a beat, he walked over to Kirishima, grabbed both sides of his face, and smashed their lips together. As quickly as it began, even quicker than Mina's squeals, Bakugou pulled away and roared, "MERRY CHRISTMAS FUCKERS! VICTORY FOR KATSUKI!" He then walked off without missing a beat.

"…huh." Kirishima muttered, his face redder than his hair. He then touched his lips and pulled his fingers back, eyes widening at the crimson liquid dotting them, "…I honestly can't say whose blood this is."

Mina made a mental note to remember that for the rest of her life before dashing around the party floor Yaoyorozu had set up, pulling random classmates into a circle and laying down an empty bottle in the middle, "I'm first!" She spun the bottle forcefully and watched with bated breath and as it slowly came to a stop on none other than Midoriya. Amidst the howls and cheers of ten mildly tipsy teens – and Bakugou – she hollered, "Ha! Yes, this is perfect!"

"W-wait no. What is this game?" Midoriya stuttered, his face redder than his shoes.

Shoji held up a tentacle and explained, "You spin the bottle to pick a partner then you both take either end of a Pocky stick in your mouth and alternate taking bites. First one to break away has to drink."

Realization dawned on the greenette's face, "So we could…k-k-kiss? Like with a real girl?!"

"Or guy and only if you don't back out."

Izuku gulped nervously but the peering eyes of his peers and their peerservering peer pressure refused to enable his awkwardness, "S-sure." _I've never drank before, though._

Mina lined up a Pocky stick and wiggled her eyebrows teasingly as she clamped down on one end, waiting patiently for her partner to oblige, which he did, albeit nervously and slowly. She giggled to herself. _All according to_ plan!

* * *

 **Ten minutes earlier**

The pinkette approached some lounging classmates, "Hey, do you guys wanna help me get Midori wasted?"

* * *

 **Twenty minutes later**

Midoriya pulled away, his blush quickly receding, but not by much after the several drinks he chugged from chickening out. _D-dammit! How do I keep getting picked? It's totally like…not fair!_

After Mina demonstrated how easily he would crack, it became almost a minigame to see who could successfully spin him as their partner. So far Hagakure, Shoji, Kaminari, Tokoyami, and the aforementioned Ashido had victimized him.

Hagakure laughed and probably grinned cheekily as she finished the Pocky and patted Jiro's shoulder, "Kyoka, you're up!"

The punk rocker suddenly blushed with realization, "Oh, uh…pass."

"A pass?" Sensing more opportunity for teasing, Mina cackled and forced Jiro's hand onto the bottle and spun, "Not scientifically possible!"

The students watched with bated breath as the bottle slowly came to a stop on none other than Kaminari. They erupted into "Ooo" and "Aaa" to tease the duo, which had the opposite effect on the blonde who was violently fist-bumping to himself.

 _I did it! I got a girl! Years of manga and internet porn have prepared me for this day!_

"I-I'll just drink." Jiro blushed terribly and chugged her drink without a second thought, tucking her jack behind her ear.

Something in Kaminari shattered that moment if the waterfall he subsequently ingested was any indication.

Soon enough, and two drinks later, it was Midoriya's turn to spin. "O-okay I… _hic_ … got this. Imma gonna…hehe." His face ablaze with Asian Glow, Izuku spun the bottle so vigorously and sloppily, it danced across the floor before cracking against Yaoyorozu's heels.

A slight dusting of crimson dotted the lady of the house's cheeks, "Oh my." From behind her, Mineta seethed with violent rage while Kaminari just kept drowning his sorrows.

Midoriya hiccupped again before holding up the Pocky stick with a narrowed, unfocused look, "Let's do this Yaomomama." _This'll end now. I'm gonna be the symbol of peace tomorrow!_ He bit down without missing a beat.

Tucking her hair behind her ear, she bit down as well while averting his intense gaze. _Oh, I just had to be nonspecific with the staff! How could I be so careless as to forget to request non-alcoholic beverages? Especially after yesterday…_

Character development aside, Midoriya's eyes lit up with uncharacteristic mischief as he took a particularly big bite, reaching the middle of the stick, much to his friends' amusement and hollering.

"Yaomomo, you have to match that!" Mina cried, her eyes bulging with anticipation.

"Is that even allowed?" Jiro whispered to Hagakure, growing more uncomfortable with the game every round.

" _Hic_ ," was the only response from the invisible girl.

Yaoyorozu gulped and slowly began moving forward. _I should go for it! I want to win. I deserve to win!_ She locked eyes with her partner. _…do I?_

She backed away and drank from her cup. Midoriya watched in stunned silence before jumping up and roaring at the top of his lungs. From the next room, Bakugou roared, "GET THAT SHIT DEKU! AUNTIE INKO DIDN'T RAISE NO BITCH!"

 _Well that was disappointing._ "Ochako, your turn!" Mina smiled at the round-faced brunette, whose perma-blush was enhanced to even greater heights.

Nodding with a sleepy grin, she grabbed the bottle and gave it a rough spin. Unfortunately, Midoriya chose that moment to sit back down, causing him to bump into the bottle right as it pointed towards him. _Ma ol' nemesissy. You wanna revenge? That it?!_ "Huh?!" he screeched at the bottle while Uraraka's relaxed expression was replaced with one of pure panic.

Mina held up a Pocky stick and wiggled her eyebrows again, "Come on. You're telling me you haven't at least thought about your precious De-ku-kun in this way before?"

"Wait n-no…I don't think of…I'm not s-sure…I'll j-just pas-"

Before she could pull a Jiro, however, Midoriya gave another roar and headbutted the bottle, breaking both the glass and his consciousness.

"…I'll be honest, I saw that ending differently." Shoji deadpanned.

"Nothing ever ends." Tokoyami mused, his stern gaze fooling nobody who saw those rosy cheeks…if birds even had cheeks.

"Hey guys," Sato said, peering from around the corner, "First, I made cookies in the kitchen." Everyone cheered, save Midoriya. "Second, Bakugou set up Flip Cup if anybody wants to-oof!"

Bakugou shoved Sato's head down and peered past him, "OI, KIRISHIMA, ICY HOT! POUR A DRINK DOWN DEKU'S THROAT AND LET'S GET A MOVE ON!"

Todoroki moved from the corner he was hidden in and emptied his cup onto Midoriya's face, despite Kirishima's efforts to coax into his mouth via a waving hand, which actually made things much worse.

* * *

 **Three hours later**

Midoriya was little more than a stuttering, swaying mess at this point, perhaps in large part to the King's Game they played where every command seemed to be some variant of "-and then take a drink." But he had entered a state of pure drunken lucidity and Flower Cup was his game.

 _My turn and only two cups left. Hehe, if only they knew! Sharingan!_ His eyes sparked to life as he scanned the two upturned sake bowls for the ball underneath. But with his Quirk, it was no trouble finding it and he instantly upturned the correct cup and laughed, "I…victor!"

The room fell silent before most everyone burst into a fit of full-bodied laughter. The greenette waved around in confusion until Todoroki, who strangely refused to show his right side to him, explained, "If you find the ball, you need to drink all the cups that got upturned before. And since everyone was playing…"

"…eh?"

* * *

 **An unknown amount of time later**

Midoriya shot up with a start, his breath ragged and his head pounding. Clutching his throbbing skull, he groaned and tried to collect his bearings, which wasn't made any easier by the painfully bright lights around him.

"Ugh, what happened? Where is everyone?" His eyes shot open and he took in his surroundings with a gasp, "…Oh. Oh no. Where am I?"

While the Yaoyorozu manor was certainly opulent beyond belief, he was fairly certain there was no television studio on the property, at least that he could get to, drunk or not. He was on the floor next to a desk and a couch in front of a set of darkened bleachers and an array of cameras and bright stage lights. _A talk show? For what?_

He turned to the desk and squinted, his eyesight still foggy from inebriation, "The Author-kun Show? Hosted by…Author-kun?" Izuku scratched his head, trying to pick at his aching brain, "Does that name ring a bell? Who…what is Author-kun?"

"That would be me!" A booming voice sounded as a darkened figure appeared from behind the adjacent set of curtains and quickly sat down behind the desk, managing to avoid the spotlight entirely despite it being trained on him by… _huh, there's nobody here either. No staff or…audience…_

"What is this?" Izuku asked cautiously, slowly standing up.

The darkened figure held out his hands, "Well this is my talk show! And you're the guest of honor!"

"…but who are you? And where is this?"

"Hmm," he stroked his imperceivable chin, "I suppose this would be confusing for you. Well, first thing's first; I'm the author of your story. Call me Author-kun! Though I think I'm older than you so maybe -san is in order…or maybe 'senpai.' Eh, it doesn't matter. I hate when people use honorifics in English stories anyways."

"…the author of my what?"

Author-kun snapped his fingers, "Right you don't know this, but you're actually in a fanfiction. And I'm the writer. And this whole set," he gestured to the set, "is the world between yours – the fanfiction – and mine – the real world."

"…wait, are you saying we're-"

"Inside the Fourth Wall? Yes!"

Izuku stood very still before collapsing onto the couch, "Ugh, how much did I drink last night?"

"More than you know, but also less than you think. Depends on your definition of 'drink'."

"Wait, what does that mean? And what do you mean 'fanfiction'? Like those stories written about…well I guess anything really."

Author-kun nodded, "Yup! Here, I'll show you." He pulled out a clicker remote and pressed a button. In front of them, a projector screen came down, strangely blocking the nonexistent audience's view. He pressed another button and a picture of Izuku appeared, wearing a green jumpsuit similar to the redesign he received in the mail a bit ago, "This is you from the canon story of 'My Hero Academia.'"

"It says 'Boku no Hero Academia' on the bottom."

"I don't care, it's easier to say 'My Hero' and I don't like weaboo culture."

"Wait, you're not a weaboo?"

"Well I'm not white and I'm half Japanese so I think I'm in the clear."

"I think weaboo is a personality more than a characteristic."

"Fuck off."

Izuku rubbed his chin, "Also, if he's supposed to be from canon, why do we look so similar?"

"…you're not that similar."

"Actually, I think we seem totally identical."

"…I made some changes."

"We're the same exact character!"

"I'm working on it okay!" Author-kun screeched, clicking away from canon-Izuku to a buffer image.

Literally.

It was just a buffer Izuku. Or at it was supposed to be Izuku; the face was strangely dimly lit, much like Author-kun. The buff Izuku was also tall and even though he didn't have much of a face, Izuku could tell his counterpart was thought to be very handsome.

"This is what happens when you change too much! You get this guy! I hate this guy!"

"What's wrong with him?"

"This is Izuku Hyoudou. He's nothing like you or canon. He's overpowered, solves every problem nearly effortlessly, and is drowning in pussy."

"Why is his fa- he's drowning in what?!"

"Do you know what 'fridging' is?"

Izuku shook his head.

Sighing, Author-kun clicked the remote again, revealing a side-by-side image of, "Kendo? What's that for?"

"Just to illustrate a point. Now, imagine this strong female character."

"…okay?"

"Now imagine this strong female character is about to be sexually assaulted and/or murdered."

"Wait, what?! No! That's awful!"

Author-kun jumped out of his chair, "Right?! That's terrible and totally unnecessary! But thankfully, Izuku Hyoudou saves her from that terrible and totally unnecessary fate by – drumroll please – solving the problem effortlessly, emphasizing both how strong he is and how helpless these damsels are."

"That doesn't sound right."

"It's not. But imagine all this happens to Kendo. What do you think her response is?" A list of multiple-choice options appeared on the screen, "Is it:

A) Kendo calls the police

B) Kendo calls a therapist

C) Kendo runs away screaming at the trauma she's suffered

D) All of the above

E) Kendo wants to get Detroit Smashed"

"…by your tone, I'm guessing it's-"

"It's E! IT'S ALWAYS E! EVERY TIME THEY'RE RESCUED, EVERY GIRL JUST FALLS IN LOVE WITH HIM! THAT ISN'T HOW RELATIONSHIPS WORK!" Author-kun suddenly stopped his rage, "That reminds me of Codependent-Izuku, but we'll get there."

Suddenly, there was a rumbling from beyond the studio doors. "What's that?" Izuku tensed.

"Shit." Author-kun sighed and pulled out a megaphone, "Izuku Hyoudou's super popular and tends to attract a very…let's say toxic group of fans. Just talking about it can excite them. Luckily, I have a deterrent."

Author-kun cleared his throat and right as the doors burst open, revealing a crawling swarm of fans, he roared, "Homosexual lemon warning!"

The masses halted in their tracks until one brave soldier called, "What gender?"

Author-kun chuckled, "Guy on guy."

The masses retreated faster than they arrived, shrieking in dismay at the terror Author-kun had wrought.

"Hehe, casual homophobia."

"…ignoring that, why is his face obscured?"

Sitting back down, Author-kun mused, "Probably because half of the time, those authors add on unnecessary traits to Izuku Hyoudou's character – typically a very specific song and/or hobby – that makes it clear he's a self-insert character disguised as an Izuku." Sighing, Author-kun pulled out a flask and took a swig.

Izuku looked away from the chaotic-good Elseworlds version of him on the screen, "You sound really upset."

"Not gonna lie. This shit is really annoying. Like, way to shit on the source material, especially this source material, by completely changing every aspect of the main character when you clearly just want to write an OC."

"It sounds kinda fun though."

"Oh for sure. I'm subscribed to like ten of them." Clearing his throat, the Author clicked his remote, revealing an Izuku that was holding hands with someone offscreen. "This is a similarly annoying version of you in fanfictions. Codependent-Izuku."

"Co-dependent?"

"This Izuku found love-"

"Wait really?!"

"Shut up, you're getting some too…at some point. Anyways, this Izuku found love and while charming at first, quickly this relationship spirals until neither character is willing to leave the other's side. Like Codependent-Izuku and his girlfriend – or boyfriend – literally can't do one thing separate from each other!"

"I don't know, that sounds kinda nice."

Suddenly, Author-kun had seized Izuku's face in his hands, his eyes finally unobscured revealing wide, terrified brown irises, "Trust me, dude. It's not. No relationship where you spend every waking moment together works. I get annoyed if I see them every day, much less at all hours."

"That sounds like you have your own issues wi-"

"Ssssh." Author-kun put a finger over Izuku's mouth and stroked his hair with the other hand, "You starting to sound like my exes."

 _Plural?! Take a hint then!_

Moving back to his desk, Author-kun clicked the remote, revealing an Izuku in a vest. That was it. "This is Villain-Izuku. His authors are lowkey sadists and have probably recently watched a YouTube video on Bakunin and/or the Marvel movies and think they have a grasp on writing moral conflict."

"Wait, I'm a villain? But…I've wanted to be a hero my entire life! It's like…my identity."

"Well it usually works well enough based on your backstory but sometimes they go overboard with it and turn you into a sociopath. But usually you're busy giving grandiose speeches about heroism or bullying and/or being balls-deep in Himiko Toga."

"Wait, who?"

With another click, another Izuku popped up. Except now, he was visibly sobbing in the fetal position, "This is Depressed-Izuku. He is depressed and angsty. He lives to suffer."

"…people want to write about me like this?"

Author-kun shrugged, "I'm sure it's cathartic or creative or something. Or maybe people like torturing fictional characters. Either way, I'm too scared to explore more in depth."

"Wait, why? What do they do to me?!"

"Moving on!" Another click and another Izuku popped up, this one glowing with a halo over his head. "This one is special to me. This is Creatively-Done-Izuku. He's you but with a twist or two. You can see how he got to where he is based on the differences between him and Canon-Izuku, but they're still the same character at the core. He's the best." Author-kun smiled to himself as a tear leaked from his eye. _This is all for, redgrass-and-silvertrees senpai!_

"So where do I fall?"

"…eh?"

Izuku scratched his head, "If I'm a fanfiction version of Canon-Izuku, then which version am I?"

 _Huh, he's taking all. this remarkably in stride._ "W-well…t-technically, there's a hidden group of Izukus that I…admit I might fraternize with."

"Really? What is it?"

Reluctantly, Author-kun clicked the remote again, revealing…"Canon-Izuku?" Izuku turned to his companion, "What do you mean?"

Sighing, Author-kun pulled out a sharpie and crossed out the word 'canon' and replaced it with 'totally original take on the character, no totally, I swear!' He then turned to look at his creation, shame written on his imperceptible visage.

"…is it from a lack of creativity or-"

"Nope, not doing this. See you at the lemon chapter! Can't wait for you to skimp on foreplay and forget to lay a towel down!"

"The what chapter?!"

* * *

Izuku shot up with a start, the early morning rays peaking from behind the curtain of Yaoyorozu's parlor. Strangely, it had fallen deathly silent. In fact, it was totally empty, save for one lone figure sulking in the dark.

"Yaoyorozu?" Izuku asked, standing up surprisingly effortlessly for how hungover he thought he'd be.

She turned to face him, and he almost recoiled from the desolate expression on her otherwise charming face, "Oh. Hello Midoriya. Sleep well?" Her voice was even more monotonous than he thought possible.

"Wha…what happened? Where is everyone?"

She laughed drearily, "Well…"

* * *

 **Three hours earlier**

"Hey, let's play the Spin the Bottle!"

"Yes! Great idea!"

"You down, Jiro?"

"Not if you're playing."

"Ooh, this is what I've been waiting for!" Mineta cried with ecstasy, only for Asui to slap him across the face with her tongue.

"You can't play."

"…huh?"

"Yeah that sounds fair."

"Probably for the best."

"WHO INVITED HIM?!"

After several moments of paralysis, possibly from his heart stopping, Mineta screamed and shouted, "WELL YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT'S NOT FOR THE BEST?!"

* * *

 **Eight hours earlier**

Mineta sipped the rice juice that Yaoyorozu had prepared – or likely her servants. _It's plain juice but the chances are that she didn't buy this. If I want a shot at having the wild high school party of my dreams, I'm gonna need to play this smart._

"Hey Yaoyorozu, this is some great sake!" Mineta exclaimed.

"Huh?" The sheltered rich girl panicked for a second before realizing who was talking, "Ugh, I know you're depraved but you can't tell that's just juice?"

Mineta pretended to sulk away but secretly snickered, his plan forming in wicked detail.

* * *

 **Thirty minutes later**

Mineta approached Todoroki and offered his cup, "Cheers to your win!"

The heterochromic teen looked down and cocked his head, "…have we spoken before?"

"Eh…" _This guy's the popular kid?!_ Shaking off his rage, Mineta smiled, "Well no, but I figured why waste good alcohol, right?"

That piqued Todoroki's interest, "This is alcoholic?" He took the cup and inspected its contents, "Is it sake or something? Looks sort of like the stuff from home."

 _Oh this is too easy._ Mineta smiled and nodded innocently, "Sure is. Yaoyorozu really sprang for the good stuff. Guess Jiro really collected a ton of money from us, huh? Why don't you go over there and thank them?"

"Hmm. Guess that would be appropriate. Thank you." Todoroki nodded goodbye and moved towards Yaoyorozu and Jiro. While Mineta couldn't hear what they were saying, the shocked expression on the girls' faces made it all too clear what transpired.

And the near-instantaneous swaying and visible slurring was just icing on the cake. _And now for the word of mouth to do the rest of the work for me. Pocky Game, here I come!_

* * *

"…wow." _I really forget how clever Mineta can be. Or maybe Todoroki's just gullible._ "Still, I can't believe we all fell for it."

"Heh, turns out a bunch of aspiring high schoolers who spent all their time focusing on getting into a prestigious academy might not know what alcohol tastes like. Woops."

… _she doesn't seem okay, even for the circumstances._ "So everyone just left after he dropped that on you?"

She nodded, "I don't think any of us could look each other in the eye. Kyoka and Tsuyu did take Mineta somewhere but I don't know anything besides that."

"…still I'm a little amazed you fell for it."

"That makes one of us."

"I mean you always seem so smart and put together. If anyone would've caught on, I thought it would've been you."

Yaoyorozu perked up and looked at Midoriya seriously. After a beat, his face heated up. _Crap, did that sound rude? Oh god that was so demeaning!_ "S-sorry, I-"

"Is that really how I seem?"

"…eh?"

She was looking at him even more seriously, but with a faint sparkle behind her eyes.

"…I mean, yeah. It's only been like a month or so but you're already probably the smartest person I've ever met. I mean, Kaminari and I would probably be dead if you hadn't come up with that stuff at USJ."

Yaoyorozu looked away, but he could see a faint, yet slightly morose smile forming on her face, "After yesterday – or I guess two days ago now – I don't feel like myself. I mean…I lost so handily."

"Your match against Tokoyami?" Izuku sat down next to her, "I didn't get to see it but I heard he was heavy on offense." _And I heard how short it was but she doesn't need that right now._

She shook her head, "It's not just that. It's that I couldn't do anything. I was so…slow? No, that's not it. It was like I couldn't make a decision and I got caught in my own head." She then turned to him, "Not like you though. You managed to improve so quickly and nearly beat Todoroki. And he's so powerful. And then Tokoyami's so efficient. It's like when I see you all, I just feel…inadequate."

Izuku looked at his bandaged hand and took a deep breath, "I think I have the opposite problem."

"Hmm?"

"I try to stick to a plan but when I get backed into a corner, way too often I just default to what's instinctual instead of what's reasonable. And sure, I'm happy I could help Todoroki but…I have to wonder if it would've been better to play it safe and just talk it through." _Be nice to not have to worry about damaging my body too._

Yaoyorozu tapped her chin before shaking her head, "Respectfully, I disagree."

Now it was Izuku's turn to look surprised.

"Long term, yes it's better to think things through. But heroism, or at least my vision of it, comes down to the moment where we choose whether or not to act. Obviously, you shouldn't throw your body around, but maybe don't count out your instincts just yet."

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while until Todoroki appeared from the room over, holding a hand over the right side of his face, "Good morning."

"Wait, Todoroki?! You're still here?" Yaoyorozu exclaimed with a start, "What happened to your face?"

"Hey, I remember he was hiding it last night too. Did something happen?"

Reluctantly, he dropped his hand, revealing a bright red flush, "My scar masks it on the left side but…"

"…Todoroki, the rice juice was just juice." Yaoyorozu deadpanned.

"I heard."

"…then why is your face still red."

"…determination."

"…I'm gonna have my driver take you both home."

"Yeah, that sounds good."

"Can he take me to the hospital?"

* * *

 **Two hours later**

The group chat was quiet except for a single thread.

Jiro: So nothing happened last night?

Tsuyu: Agreed.

Sato: Sounds good.

Deku: I'd prefer that.

Kirishima: Eh, I had fun.

Bakugou: I'll kill you.

Sero: *kiss

*Bakugou has left the chat*

* * *

 **If it wasn't clear, Todoroki went to see his mom after the party. That's why he wanted to go to the hospital.**

 **Also Mineta's plan was convince Yaoyorozu that her servants set out booze instead of regular juice and she was naïve/unconfident enough to believe him (or at least Todoroki who is definitely naïve enough to believe Mineta). From there, everyone else just sorta fell into a pseudo-drunkenness like in Food Wars where it's totally just rice juice. Totally. Absolutely just juice.**

 **But it's done. It took so. Many. Fucking. Rewrites. And cuts. It was nearly 8K words originally and believe me, none of it was good. But it's done. I feel I could produce a documentary on the process behind writing the damn thing but it honestly came down to cutting the stuff that really didn't belong (so much for unfiltered inebriation) and forcing myself to include some stuff that did but probably wouldn't sit well with a lot of you (the joys of being a self-conscious asshole).**

 **Oh well.**

 **Honestly, what pushed me over the edge to just release the chapter was probably the new movie. After Star Wars, I was hoping to cleanse my palate…whoops. Turns out rage is a good motivator to rewrite a canon (see my unpublished Game of Thrones fanfic where my queen doesn't go full savage).**

 **Now back to the stuff that's fun to write.**

 **Also Yaoyorozu won.**


	19. Hero Marketing

**Welp, it seems you guys liked Chapter 18 about as much as I did. In my defense, I warned you. Least we can get back to the plot.**

 **Side note: After the shit taste that 'Heroes Rising' and 'Rise of Skywalker' left in my mouth, I can safely say that 'Weathering with You' and 'Little Women' have reinvigorated my appreciation for cinema. That's been your chapterly Author-kun recommendation.**

 **Also quick recap for those who – understandably – skipped the last chapter: nothing interesting happens with Class 1-A, the author realizes maybe he was the problem, and Deku manages to talk to a girl about serious business.**

* * *

 **Q/A**

 **Man, it's been forever since I did this. Then again, the last few chapters had like hundreds of reviews, so it was kinda hard to answer them. Luckily, the last one was a bit more accessible.**

 **\- I don't remember if I even addressed this officially (and I cut the segment from Author-kun's tirade) but I'm still getting comments for that weird preliminary tournament thing I did after the Cavalry Battle. And fairly so; it was a dumb idea then and it's a dumber idea now. But I have no regrets! I wanted more fights and I had fun writing it. If you don't like it, I hate it probably more than you, but part of this story will always be about indulging my stupidity. So I offer you my nuts upon which you may suckle.**

 **\- I (weirdly) got requests to write more chapters high. I'm not entirely opposed to it since it was fun to do (dopamine wise) but it will never be like the last one. I just don't want to involve actual story beats with that kind of nonsensical humor, especially if it means turning off people who've been supportive of the story otherwise. Maybe I could do something like an omake? Depends on the demand, but I'll leave a sample of what I'm thinking at the end.**

 **\- For those who thought the lemon chapter joke was real, I want it to be said that I will probably never write a lemon. This is a family show.**

 **\- People still asking about the Mangekyō, hear me now: I have a plan and if you want to know, you'll just have to read and be patient (hint hint, you won't have to be** _ **that**_ **patient).**

 **\- I don't use really use Discord but if you guys actually wanna engage on there, I'm obviously down. It's just another question of demand.**

 **\- I get a couple questions like this every few months so I'll make it clear in public: I do not own the idea of Izuku with a Sharingan. I'm sure it was done before me and it'll be done long after me. If you want to write a story with that premise, I do not mind in the slightest. In fact, please share it with me!**

* * *

 _Chapter 19: Hero Marketing_

* * *

"Hello?" Izuku yawned into his phone, still rubbing the sleep from his bleary eyes.

"Midoriya? It's Recovery Girl. All Might gave me your number."

He instantly stood at attention, any remnant of his rest gone, "Y-yes ma'am?" _Ohmygod Ohmygod Ohmygod I'm getting a phone call from a Pro Hero_... _besides All Might...wow that's really lost its splendor after a year._

She cleared her throat across the line, "Can you bring Eri in again? I was hoping to do some Quirk analysis and figure out what happened on Friday."

He looked to his side at the young girl slowly stretching herself out on the bed she wasn't in when he fell asleep. _Huh, I completely forgot that she healed me with all the stuff that happened after with Todoroki and Iida…when did I start living such an interesting life?_ "Okay, I'll just let my mom know."

"Excellent. I'll be by your apartment shortly."

"Eh?"

* * *

Theoretically, getting to ride shotgun with a Pro Hero, especially one as legendary as Recovery Girl, sounded impressive and was certainly preferable to taking the train with the current stormy weather.

Theoretically.

"Y-you know…the train – _gulp_ " Izuku stifled the vomit that threatened to spill out, " – would've been r-really fine."

Eri tried to nod, but that only made things worse.

Recovery Girl popped off her booster seat – which would've been adorable under different circumstances – and waved her hand dismissively, "Nonsense! Can't have my precious Eri-chan walk around in this unholy weather." She smiled as she patted the child's head, which only worsened the nausea, "Huh, looks like she's coming down with something."

Izuku rubbed the child's back. _After that drive, I wouldn't rule out a concussion._

The Youthful Heroine locked her vehicle and took Eri by the hand, "I'll take her to my office now, if that's alright with you. We'll probably be finished after lunch if you want to get her then."

He tried to nod but the motion made the encroaching bile come back with a vengeance, so he settled for a thumbs-up. _Well at least I have plenty of time to settle down before class starts._ He made his way, slowly, to the lockers and began gingerly bending down to swap shoes. _Oh god, bending over makes it worse. It's so much worse!_

He was stuck in that position for a while until a familiar voice called out– and a familiar hand chopped him – "Up and at it, Midoriya! Only ten minutes until class starts."

"Iida?" Izuku leapt up, ignoring his inner-ear canal's screaming to address his formerly-MIA friend, "Hey, how have you been? How's Inge- I mean your brother?"

The taller boy smiled reassuringly and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, "I'm well, thank you. And he's in stable condition. But how was the class party? I haven't had the chance to look through my messages."

Izuku blushed and grinned sheepishly, avoiding eye contact, "W-well…nothing interesting happened. Don't worry about catching up." _Though maybe he can help me find out what happened to Mineta._

"Ah, well as long as you all had fun. Anyways, I'll go make sure everyone else is ready for class. Sorry again if I caused you any undue worry over the last couple days." Iida waved off, leaving Midoriya to his thoughts.

 _He…he seems fine. Completely normal. Totally back to the way things were._

Then he saw a slight tremor in his friend's posture. A quiet change in his position, as if something threatened to bubble up and spill out. Or maybe erupt forth. It was the tremor of someone forcing something back down, trying to maintain a semblance of outer peace at the cost of inner turmoil. Basically, it had been Izuku's default state from ages four to fourteen.

 _He's not alright._

* * *

Iida's evidently poor handling of his brother's injury would've weighed much more heavily on Midoriya's mind if Aizawa hadn't entered homeroom both bandage free and bearing news of internships.

Gesturing to the data on the screen, Aizawa deadpanned, "There's a bit of an outlier – or three – this year but a fair few of you still got offers." Behind him, the blackboard screen flashed a bar graph showing all the students with formal offers.

 _Todoroki: 3,123_

 _Bakugou: 2,303_

 _Midoriya: 2,286_

 _Tokoyami: 323_

 _Iida: 301_

 _Uraraka: 200_

 _Kaminari: 172_

 _Kirishima: 68_

 _Yaoyorozu: 28_

 _Sero: 11_

 _Ashido: 3_

"I…I got offers!" Izuku nearly leapt off his chair but settled on turning around, "Mineta, did you see? I got of…fers…"

The shortest student in Class 1-A stared back at Midoriya with eyes deprived of soul or life and flashed a thumb in the most asinine of manners. His skin was sallow and taut while his hair-like balls, normally a rich violet, were shriveled and colored a sad, faded lilac.

 _Asui…Jiro…what did you do to him?_

Uraraka shook Iida vigorously, nearly sobbing, while Kirishima was somewhere between furiously high-fiving Kaminari and comforting Ashido. "Come on, three's not bad! Some of us didn't get any offers!"

Kaminari interjected, "Yeah. And besides, it's not like you could've done anything against Todoroki in the fir-YEOW!" He was cut short on account of Jiro stabbing his ears and blasting him with sound.

Todoroki only shook his head, "I'm pretty sure most of them are because of my father's connections," which earned the ire of more than a few students who remembered a series of giant ice walls that would suggest otherwise.

"I guess I should be grateful I got any at all." Yaoyorozu sighed a breath of relief. When Aizawa announced the internships, she felt a momentary twinge of panic that she would be left in the dust after the abysmal showing against Tokoyami (and getting drowned out by everything Hatsume was showing in the match before). _This is my starting line. I'm going to stop second guessing myself and_

Scratching his cheek, Sato commented, "Huh, it's weird that Midoriya got less offers than Bakugou."

"I guess those last few minutes against Todoroki must've spooked some of the pros." Sero attempted to explain, thankful to every god that nobody was commenting on his showing. _Least I'm not last._

"Ribbit. Also Midoriya isn't nearly as memorable as Bakugou. He also tends to fade into the background when grouped up so his performance in the cavalry battle might've gone past some heads. It's not unlikely that some of the pros just forgot."

Izuku sweatdropped. _I thought we were friends, Asui!_

Luckily, his – literal – knight in shining armor came to his defense, "Ces mensonges. Monsieur Midoriya is an icône!"

 _Aoyama! I won't forget this kindness._

The dazzling Frenchman held up his phone, "Regarde. Midoriya and Awase are famous! There's enough fanart to fill the Louvre." The screen was far away, and the images were too numerous to count, but Midoriya had a sinking feeling about who was to blame for starting the trend.

 _Dammit, Midnight-sensei._

"I'd save those pictures if I was you. No telling when I'll have to take mine down."

 _Speak of the devil_.

The R-Rated Hero strolled in through the door, stroking her whip and smiling with a sadistic flavor. "Her penchant for underage yaoi aside, Midnight's here to make sure you all are ready for your internships next week," Aizawa explained.

"Ready how? We already fought villains at USJ", Ojiro slightly shuddered as he spoke, recalling the especially stressful event.

Midnight answered with surprising confidence and seriousness, "You might be relatively ready for the rigors of your internships, but something just as important as being able to apprehend villains – which none of you should really be doing without your license anyways – is your identity."

A wave of silent confusion washed over the class, prompting her to elaborate, "This will be the first time you appear in public wearing your costumes. To the average citizen, that means you'll be seen as a hero. While you don't have the responsibilities of one yet, you should have certain elements for practicality's sake. Most notably, your hero names."

It was like a bomb went off; the class erupted into cheers and whoops of excitement at the prospect of further legitimizing themselves as proper heroes(-in-training).

"Of course, I'll have you read them out loud to the whole class. Just so you have an idea of what public perception to your name'll be." It was hard to ignore the traces of sadism on Midnight's face, her smile twitching ever so up.

The class unanimously agreed on one thing: _She's looking for public humiliation, isn't she?_

The process was arduous for everyone – save Aizawa who curled up nearly immediately – though some struggled more than others.

"For the last time, Bakugou you cannot call yourself anything with 'murder' in it." Midnight pinched her nose, evidently not used to the torture being turned around.

"Then what am I supposed to say?!"

"How about just 'Lord Explosion'?"

"…my hearing cut out for a moment there. What did you say?"

"You can also call yourself 'King Explosion' or something along those lines."

"…nah it happened again. It's like whenever you open your mouth, I'm filled with so much rage, my hearing cuts out."

The R-Rated Hero's eye twitched maliciously, and she stretched her flail out, fully prepared to beat the boy within an inch of his life. Luckily, Aizawa's danger sense went off and he sprang to action, wrapping Bakugou in the capture weapon and dragging him back to his seat before falling asleep then and there. Sweatdropping, Uraraka approached the podium and presented her name.

 _It's just me and Iida now…and Kacchan I guess. I have so many ideas but now that I actually have to decide, I'm drawing a total blank._ Midoriya looked at his hero notebook in his bag, recalling the dozens of derivations of "All Might" that he came up as a child – and last year if he was being honest. _But I'm not ready to inherit his mantle just yet. I'm not a hero like him…and maybe I never will be. I can't defile his legacy like that._

On the other side of the classroom, Iida gazed at his own blank slate, his mind flashing back to the events of the last few days.

* * *

 **Three days earlier**

Iida burst through the doors of Tensei's hospital room, his sobbing mother trying in vain to calm him down. He immediately felt his breath catch as the world around him disappeared, leaving just him and the sight of his brother's shivering, broken form.

Ingenium was bandaged from head to toe, especially his arms. Poking through the gauze, Tensei's once shining and robust golden mufflers were cracked, bent, and broken. One eye was swollen shut while the other was glazed over. His breathing was ragged and frail, broken only by the occasional softly whispered word, "s-s-stain."

Tenya rushed to his brother's bedside, "Tensei! Tensei, look at me! Snap out of it! Tensei!" He could feel his mother's arm on his shoulder, gently urging him back, as well hear as the doctor speaking to him but none of that registered with him. The only thing Iida felt in that moment was the soul-crushing realization that Ingenium, his ideal and reason for becoming a hero, was gone.

And that made Tenya's blood boil with impossible fury.

* * *

 **Present**

 _Don't worry Tensei, I'll make things right as a son of the Iida family and the brother of Ingenium. No matter what, I'll return the favor._ Strolling to the front of the class gave him the chance to calm himself before presenting his hero name, "Iida."

"Your surname? Are you sure you want to go with that?"

The class president nodded with a slight smile, "This is the hero I want to be. I want to do right by my family."

Midnight's face erupted with steam, "Oh how joyous! I just love a family man."

Aizawa propped his head off the ground, "He's 15."

"You know what my deal is," she retorted without hesitation, "Approved!"

Iida nodded and went back to his seat, oblivious to the gaze fixated on him. _Do right by your family, huh?_

Midnight regained her composure and cleared her throat, "Ahem. Midoriya, we're just waiting on you."

"The fuck? I still haven't gone!" Bakugou growled.

"Only one to go."

"Don't you fucking ignore me."

"Just. Midoriya."

Shyly shuffling past the warring duo, Midoriya gave a deep breath before revealing his board, "I didn't really have an idea of what I wanted to be called until Iida went but if my name should represent the hero that I want to be, then I think this is the only choice."

"Are you sure dude? Isn't that an insult?" Kirishima scratched his head, cautiously playing devil's advocate.

Izuku nodded, "It started like that, sure, but lately I've been hearing it in a different context a lot more and…well I think I'd like others to see me the same way."

'Deku'

* * *

"So you're going to Gunhead's agency?" Izuku looked up from the printout Aizawa handed him with all of his offers listed in order of rank alongside notes on the agency's locations, specialties, and notable feats. Unfortunately, the list was as thick as a book, which was also impressive considering Aizawa had done that for all the other students within two days. _No wonder he sleeps so much during the day._

Uraraka nodded passionately, "Yup!"

Izuku put his hand on his chin, "Hmm, he specializes in close-quarters combat so I guess it matches your Quirk but did you not get any offers from a rescue-oriented agency? I would've thought they'd line up to borrow you for a week considering how useful cancelling gravity is."

Blushing through the compliment, she rubbed her arm, "Well that's my goal, but after fighting Kirishima, I realized that I might have a knack for martial arts. Then Bakugou showed me just how much farther I have left to go." The latter snickered proudly from the seat in front, "Besides, getting stronger can only give me more options as a hero, right?"

Midoriya felt his heart squeeze. _Such passion!_

"Oh hey it's that ugly face you make! I feel like I haven't seen it in a while."

Now it was his turn to blush, "S-sorry. I can't help it."

She peered over his shoulder to look at his papers, getting close enough to deepen his blush, "So what about you? Any agencies you're leaning towards?"

"I mean, there are so many that sound amazing! Ranking-wise, it makes sense to stick with Edgeshot. Beyond that, he also has a similar combat style to what I'm building towards. But then if I use that as a metric, maybe I should choose Death Arms and get better at brute force. That'll also give me the chance to work with Kamui Woods since they team up so often, and that'll afford me a chance to see Pros work together up close. Of course, I also want to address my weaknesses so maybe I should take up Wash's offer-"

Bakugou nearly spit up, "THE DAMN NERD GOT AN OFFER FROM WASH?!"

Even Todoroki looked surprised. _Wash-sama? Endeavor fears no man but that hero…he scares him._

"-but Backdraft is more local and has a similar focus on mid-to-long range so that might be more convenient. Additionally, Asui made it clear I lack presence so a hero like Shishido or His Purple Highness might help me get better at that-"

Yaoyorozu flashed back to a meeting she had with His Purple Highness through her family connection. _For some reason, I have a feeling that won't end well…anyways, Uwabami sounds promising!_

"-and I really need to focus on my appearance more so I can capitalize on the momentum after the Sports Festival and my new name." Izuku took several deep breaths before reddening with realization, "S-sorry. I didn't think I'd get that far. People usually stop me before I finish."

"Me too." Midnight groaned.

Aizawa pulled out a spray bottle with a cat logo on it, "I reiterate: they're children."

While Midnight was made even wetter ( **AN: I'm not sorry** ), Uraraka was in a stunned silence. _He's so focused on being a hero. It's like whenever I think I'm giving it my all, he shows me just how much further I have left to go._ "Man, that was really cool sounding, Deku!" Uraraka beamed and punched his shoulder, which hurt more than he was comfortable admitting ( _Gunhead's definitely the right choice_ ), "I'm really happy you're so gung-ho about this! And that I got to help you pick your hero name!"

"…yes. Definitely. Glad you caught that." _I don't have the heart to tell her I picked it cuz Eri calls me Deku-nii_.

"But Iida, I'm surprised you went with something so basic as your hero name. You're normally so flashy!"

From across the room, Iida gave a small smile as his friends walked over, "Well it felt like the best way to honor my family's legacy. Especially with…" The smile faded and his expression darkened. He quickly averted his gaze, but the gesture wasn't lost on his friends.

"Because of your brother?" Uraraka said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder only for him to shrug it off.

Iida hesitated before turning around again, the same smile plastered onto his face, "Sorry I lost my train of thought there. I suppose you'll hear it on the news at some point but…my brother's injuries were pretty serious. He'll be out of commission for a while."

The trio was stuck in an awkward silence for a while, even as the lunch bell rang, each unsure as to what to say next. Luckily, the tension-breaker of all tension-breakers came bursting through the classroom, " **I am opening the door like a normal person!** " All Might threw open the sliding door so hard that the building must've shook, " **Sorry to disturb you during lunch kids, but I need to steal Young Midoriya!** "

"Huh? Right now?" Izuku pointed to himself as if he forgot whose successor he was.

" **Indeed! Recovery Girl asked me to get you so here I am fulfilling my obligation to a colleague!** "

"Oh right. Gotta get Eri."

It was like a bomb went off in the class, even though Bakugou barely made an explosion in response, "SHE'S HERE?!"

"…y-yes?"

Like a regimen of soldiers, they wolfed down their food in record time before assembling all the components of a solid play date; Aoyama dug up some fairy tales, Koda summoned his animal friends, Yaoyorozu researched the chemical formula for assorted candies, and Aizawa started stuffing Midnight into his sleeping bag ("I won't let you corrupt this one").

* * *

" **Deku, huh? I like it. It's snappy and easy to remember!** "

Izuku smiled at the praise of his mentor, "Thanks. It was the only thing I could really think of though, to be honest."

" **Really? I would've thought you had a million ideas in those notebooks of yours.** "

He blushed deeply, "W-well…"

All Might raised an eyebrow before he remembered who his student was, " **Right. Fan boy. Got it.** "

They continued walking in a comfortable silence before the larger also remembered his second purpose for pulling the boy, " **By the way, you got some more offers earlier today.** " He handed Izuku another sheet with several hero stats on them.

Sighing, Izuku accepted the offer list, "A couple months ago, I would've been thrilled to be acknowledged by just one hero. But now that I have to make a decision, I sorta wish I had fewer choices."

" **The struggles of popularity! Well on the bright side, I stole a peek at your list so I can offer some recommendations!** "

"Really? What do you think I should do?"

" **Well Edgeshot is in the Top 5 for the whole country so working with him would help prepare you for what you'll be dealing with in the future. Of course, it's never unwise to focus on the smaller, more local heroes who you'll be teaming up with from time to time. In that category, I personally recommend Pankration. But then you could also go against the grain and choose…** **grantorino**

"Sorry, who?"

All Might meekly looked away, feeling a great deal of nausea at the prospect before him, " **I-i-f y-you'd like to…my old homeroom teacher, G-gran T-t-torino has…um…he req – dammit Toshinori, stop shaking! – he sent you an offer earlier today.** "

Many things made Izuku Midoriya panic but perhaps nothing more than seeing his mentor – and the most powerful person on the planet – shiver in complete fear. _What the hell?!_

" **He was my mentor's sworn friend and helped t-train me after she passed. I told him about you and how I've been working with you and…oh god he thinks I'm a failure of a mentor! He's going to hurt me again!** "

All Might practically fell into the fetal position and started whispering "No Sorahiko-dono, yamate," over and over.

… _I should go._ Izuku decided to enter the nurse's office, partly because it was only a few more steps, partly because the other students were staring at him and All Might – especially now – and because the more he heard about Gran Torino, the more he wished he hadn't.

"Deku-nii!"

 _Ah, my strength returns._ "Hey, how was it?" He patted Eri's head affectionately.

"I got my horn shaved!"

"…eh?"

Recovery Girl chuckled from her desk before holding up a small vial containing a little bit of a yellow-white powder, "I use a file to take a sample of her horn. I'm running mass spectrometry on it now to determine its makeup."

He lifted his sister into his arms and allowed her to play with his phone, "Why? Is there something abnormal about it?"

The heroine shrugged, "No idea. With all the quirks in the world, so many people have horns with unique chemical structures. Ashido in your class, for instance, has horns with a separate function and composition than someone with, let's say, a Rhino Quirk. Since we already know her Quirk factor is concentrated around her forehead, we can narrow it's possible mechanism through analysis."

"So by findin-wait there are Rhino Quirks?!"

"Focus!"

"S-sorry! So by finding out the structure of the horn, you can maybe narrow down what her Quirk could be?"

She beckoned the siblings to her desk and pulled up two pictures of Eri, one from today and the other from her first visit to UA several weeks ago, "That's one reason but also I have a suspicion that her horn is the source of her Quirk. See the difference between the pictures."

"Ooh I like this game!"

The grown-ups looked down at the child in surprise, "Really?"

Eri nodded vehemently, "We would play this at the…umm…sorry." The child suddenly withdrew and resumed the meek posture from when she met Izuku.

"Hey, are you okay?" He knelt down and patted her head, but she flinched at the touch before shifting away slightly. _I'm guessing she's still touchy about the past._

Recovery Girl was a consummate professional, however, "Eri, I actually bought a treat for you. The fridge in the back has some apple-flavored popsicles if you'd like one. Midoriya and I can continue."

Silently, the child nodded and moved towards the back room.

Izuku immediately whispered, "What was that? I haven't seen her shut down like that in a while!"

She sighed and leaned back in her chair, "She's done that with me a few times, but always when I ask about those scars on her arm or anything about her history. In kids, this behavior is almost always correlated with some types of traumatic stress disorder."

"Like what soldiers get?"

"Similar, yes. It's exceedingly rare for kids though and it tends to present differently in these cases, so I don't want to assume hastily. However, she does show a strong connection to her caregivers – you and your mother – while also presenting a simultaneous aversion to painful stimuli, which practically confirms our suspicions of mistreatment."

Izuku was somewhere between disgusted, depressed, and pissed, "So her guardians before us…they really did abuse her."

Nodding solemnly, Recovery Girl explained, "That's actually the third reason I've been examining her so thoroughly: to see if anything about her matches any child on record. Not only could we better identify her Quirk if we have a family history on record, we could find out what her background is and ID her."

"I thought All Might already had his friend in the police work to match her to missing persons though?

"True, we found no matches. Now, we're just trying to determine if she exists at all."

"…what does that mean?"

Several screens of data appeared on the screen, not dissimilar to the hero registry that Izuku was fretting over before this, "When your mother took in Eri, we treated it like a foreign adoption. It made for a quicker process and asked fewer questions. Now that your family has a claim to her, it's important we find out if anyone else does. Beyond identifying her background, we want to make sure nobody can enforce a legal argument for custody."

"And have her go back to her abusers…" Izuku sat down and exhaled deeply, "That's…that's a lot to think about."

Recovery Girl put a comforting hand on his knee, "Don't fret over it though. We have enough evidence to fight any custody battle. It's more about preparing than anything. The really pressing issue is her Quirk."

"Oh right! So what's the difference in that photo from earlier?"

She pulled the images back up, "Her horn shrunk."

It was true: though a slight change, Eri's horn was visibly a bit shorter than before, "But how? Why?"

"I have way too many theories, but the two prominent ones are that her horn is either tied to stress, which raises unneeded connections to Destro, or it represents her ability to use her Quirk itself."

He paused for a moment of thought, "So it's like a pool that she can draw power from? Since her Quirk is some kind of healing, her horn shrank because she used her power on me at the festival!"

 _Man if he wasn't so hellbent on being a hero, I'd have him go into research._ "Right. I think Eri's horn stockpiles power that she can use to power healing, not dissimilar to One For All, though I don't think your power regresses with use." The Youthful Heroine removed her glasses and smiled, "If I'm right, Eri would actually have a much more robust healing Quirk than my own." _If the timing was different, she might've even been able to save All Might._

"So if she could control it, she really could heal All Might?"

 _Heh. Yup, the kid should be a doctor._ "I don't know about now. We've had to remove entire organs and healing that would require regeneration, which hasn't been seen in any generation so far. Even if Quirks get stronger with our descendants, it would be a hell of a mutation for someone to be able to do that. Granted, though, we already determined her Quirk is mutagenic in nature so I can't rule out that maybe she could help manage his symptoms and buy him more time in muscle form."

Izuku jumped up with an excited grin, "Then let's get them both in here and-ow!"

Recovery Girl angrily waved her cane, "Think boy! She can't control it yet and even then, don't put that on her."

He sat back down sheepishly and looked away, "S-sorry."

"Your master has a terrible habit of forcing responsibility onto you - speaking of which, I have your pain medication - and you'd be wise not to inherit that from him."

"B-but…I do want to live up to his expectations! I wanna be his honest-to-god successor."

She sighed, "You idolize the man too much, though I suppose Sorahiko will beat that out of you soon enough."

Izuku cocked his head, "Sorahiko? That's All Might's old teacher's real identity, right? Gran Torino?"

The old doctor smiled at the mention of her old friend, "Indeed. A real troublemaker, but a good man. Better hero, too! All Might likely would've died a long time ago if Torino hadn't taught him so well. I guess he followed through on sending you the offer then?"

He nodded and pulled out the form All Might gave him, "Yeah he sent it earlier today I guess, but I've never heard of Gran Torino," _And I'm the biggest hero fan in the world!_

"Yeah he only taught for a year at UA for All Might's sake and stuck mostly underground otherwise. But he was sworn friends with All Might's mentor, studied under her mentor for a bit, and made All Might into the Symbol of Peace. There's probably nobody alive with a greater understanding of One For All." _Save for one._

The warning bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, "Oh, there I go running my big mouth! Why don't you take a popsicle for the road and head back to class with Eri?" She held out another pill bottle, the remainder of his prescription.

Izuku accepted the medication, stood up and bowed, "Thanks for everything, Recovery Girl."

She smiled as he left, sister in hand. _Can't argue that at least he's made life at UA more interesting. For all his blithering and reckless abandon, he'll be a fine hero…or at least he will be once Sorahiko beats the stupid out of him._

Outside the clinic, Izuku sweatdropped to see his mentor still curled up and muttering to himself. _Is that what I look like?_ "All Might, I think I'm going to Gran Torino's for the internship."

That snapped him out of his stupor, " **R-really? Excellent. Good for you. I'll remember you fondly.** "

"R-right. Anyways, I gotta head back so I'll see you at training later."

"Bye Mr. Might." Eri waved with her popsicle stick as they walked back to the classroom.

" **Yes. Good talk, Young Midoriya…wait, you didn't get to eat lunch...again! Unacceptable!** **Hold on, my boy; the bentos are on the way!** "

* * *

 **A week later**

In the sunny streets of Hosu, Tenya Iida closely followed his temporary mentor, the Normal Hero: Manual, as they patrolled among the smiling citizenry. "You know, I was actually really surprised to receive your acceptance Iida," the affable pro mused.

The armored student looked up from his thoughts, "Yes well I found your agency to be the most ideal choice for me and what I hope to do over this week." _Technically true._

Manual stopped and turned to the boy with a small and understanding smile, "You mean find the Hero Killer?"

That made Iida flinch more visibly than he was comfortable with, which was a lot considering his default state, "...I don't know what to say."

The older of the two placed a hand on his intern's shoulder and patted it, "I see a lot of myself in you, Iida. I've been vengeful before and let me tell you, it's not worth it. Moral reasoning aside, you're also still a student and unauthorized to act independently."

When he got no response from the boy and gave up trying to determine his emotions through the armor, Manual turned around and added, "Just...think carefully about what kind of hero you want to be. But that's enough heavy stuff for now. Let's get on with the patrol!"

Resuming their casual stroll, Iida couldn't help but clench his fists in a flash of rage. _It doesn't matter what kind of hero I want to be. Not anymore. Not after what_ _he_ _did._

Said 'he' was actually not far off from the duo, perching atop an obscured water tower in broad daylight, his face scrunched in some twisted smirk.

"To sit so casually during the noontime, you must be every bit as capable as the reports say." A black swarm of mist appeared behind the Hero Killer, swirling around and around until it took the general silhouette of a man wearing a bartender's ensemble and a metal neck brace of sorts. _That or he's completely detached from reality. Both are highly probable._

Stain barely shifted his position though his eyes darted energetically to the side while his fingers tensed, ready to draw one of his many weapons, "I've heard of you. Last I checked, you were even more wanted than me."

Kurogiri chuckled dryly, "Perhaps at one point but your more recent moves have made you quite the figurehead in the public's eye. A mystery man moving from place to place across the region, crippling and killing heroes left and right? That's certainly more terrifying than a ragtag bunch of lowlifes that got dismantled by a few kids."

"Sycophant all you want, I didn't call myself the 'League of Villains' like some comic book character."

"Touché."

Twisting his head around, Stain put a hand on one of his knives, "But is that why you came here? To join my quest of 'villainy'?" With a flick of his thumb, the blade popped out of its sheath.

 _He phrases that like it's a bad thing. Best play it safe._ "I just want to talk. We can return to my hideout if you'd like. Get you out of the open and discuss things over drinks."

Stain tightened his grip on the blade before sighing and resheathing it, "Lead the way."

* * *

As Izuku walked to the address listed for Gran Torino's agency, his thoughts drifted to Iida and the curt goodbye they shared at the train station. _He's still so stiff and disingenuous. But I can't get through to him if he won't let me in…heh, maybe I should fight him. I'm two for two on that front._

He took a quick look at the scars on his hand and the memory of taking a Howitzer to the face.

… _nah I'm good._

Finally, he came to the correct building, if one could call it that. A more appropriate description would be cobbled-together-hodgepodge-of-brick-and-mortar-that-also-survived-a-nuclear-attack-but-poorly.

… _this guy made All Might the Symbol of Peace?_

"Hello, this is Izuku Midoriya from UA. I'm here to intern under Gran Torino." Knocking lightly was enough to open the shoddily built door, revealing a small elderly man with a blank expression in oversized yellow spandex sitting in a pool of some red liquid.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…Toshinori?"

"…excuse me." Izuku moved to close the door before a sudden blast of rock-hard wind kicked him in the chest and sent him flying off of the stoop and onto the street below. Or maybe it was a small leg moving at the speed of sound. His thoughts weren't very conducive at the moment.

 _Umm…what?!_

"Hmm, he told me you had enhanced perception and good reflexes. Guess he's mistaken. Go figure."

Looking up, ignoring the searing pain in his sternum, Izuku looked at a proudly posed hero, a far cry from the simple old invalid act from earlier, "G-gran Torino?"

The old man smirked and dusted himself off, "The one and only. Now come on, show me what you got, neophyte!"

* * *

 _Omake_

* * *

"Okay students. We all know why you're here tonight so let's just own up to it." Nezu looked to the first troublemaker, "Nemuri, do you want to tell us why you're here?"

The heroine fidgeted uncomfortably, refusing to make eye contact, "Because I acted inappropriately around the students?"

"Are you asking us or telling us?"

"I acted inappropriately with students."

"Is that it?"

"…I might've also posted some unprofessional images of the students on private social media accounts."

"…"

"…And I needlessly dragged out the tournament by forcing some students to participate in unnecessary preliminary matches, thereby placing many of them at a competitive disadvantage for the remainder of the finals."

Nezu nodded with a kind smile, "Thank you for your candor. Now, what about you, Hizashi? Would you like to admit what you did wrong?"

The leather-clad hero put his legs on the table and inhaled sharply, "…nah."

"Are you sure? Because I have it on good word – and tape – that you said some pretty unbecoming things as commentator."

"That wasn't me."

Midnight nudged her colleague, "Just fess up so we can go."

Present Mic pushed her back, "Screw you! I did the job I was asked to do."

"Hizashi, nobody asked you to insult half of the freshmen on international television," Aizawa deadpanned from under Nezu (the principal was perched on his shoulder).

"I'm sorry, I thought I was supposed to ENTERTAIN the crowd! Our ratings have never been better!"

"That's because someone posted the video of Endeavor chucking fireballs at the announcer's box."

"You're welcome."

Midnight groaned, "God, I can't believe you actually graduated."

"I can't believe you got rejected by a bunch of repressed teens."

"Oh, so you're ready to die?"

"SQUARE UP BITCH, I'VE BEEN READY! HOLD ON OBORO! I'M COMING!"

Watching his two oldest friends tear each other apart, Aizawa sighed exasperatedly, "Principal, what's the point of this anyways? They're not gonna change."

The mouse-bear-dog's thoughts flashed to a world on fire, chimeric beasts rampaging through the streets, slaughtering not just the men, but the women and children too, like animals. A glorious army of super-powered animals stood in uniform blocks, marching down the streets of the society they reclaimed under the glorious flag of the Fourth Reich while their ivory leader cackled maniacally over the bones of the fallen masters.

"Justice," Nezu said with a smile.

* * *

 **Honestly, this is one of the tamer omakes I have in mind and it's not even my idea. Think of that what you will.**

 **Also sorry for the dialogue heavy chapter but plot threads are a bitch. Ne**

 **I decided that it didn't make sense for Iida to go with 'Tenya' since in canon, he chose that out of insecurity of inheriting 'Ingenium.' Since he isn't having that thrust on him in the story, I'm having him just go with 'Iida' so it's more obviously a pride thing. More on that later though.**

 **As for Midoriya going with 'Deku,' I thought about changing it, but I settled for changing the rationale behind him choosing it instead. If it ain't broke after all. Besides I kinda like the idea that he picks 'Deku' because he wants to be the hero that helped Eri.**

 **And again, I considered sending him to another hero besides Gran Torino but there weren't any that had both character development needed to write well and a compatibility with the direction I'm taking Midoriya in. Besides, he still values All Might's opinion so much (which, again, more on that later) that it makes sense he'd go where All Might wanted him too. Also, the arc has logistical issues if I couldn't find a way to get Deku in Hosu so…**


	20. Dialectics

**Woo! Chapter 20! I've already written more in this year than the entirety of 2019. Whoops.**

 **But man I'm having a ton of fun with this story! I haven't felt this creatively driven since I started and it's delightful. Can't tell if it's the MCAT or breakup but this last week has been so enjoyable, I'm smiling like an idiot.**

 **Chapter's a bit shorter for plot purposes but I've already started on the next one. No promises, of course (that's worked out well for me in the past), but I hope to continue this momentum for as long as I can.**

 **S/o Blake Tourdner for being the first person to catch two separate jokes in chapters 18 and 19. Don't know if I should commend you or chastise myself for stealing bits. Whoops.**

 **Side note: New cover art. Idk about it so I might switch back but I felt like a change**

* * *

 **Q/A**

 **\- Huh…it's empty...time to talk about how the Prequel Trilogy is the best part of Star Wa- wait, where you going?**

* * *

 _Chapter 20: Dialectics_

* * *

"Be honest, you only chose my agency because of my ranking, yes?"

Bakugou, grit his teeth and looked away in a huff, unable to lock eyes with the Number 4 Hero and those piercing Baby Blues.

Best Jeanist chuckled softly, "I'll take that as a resounding yes, then. It's fine, of course. I did send you the offer after all. Someone so…untamed and matted like yourself is exactly who I've been looking for.

"Heroes and villains blur together more often than most of the higher ups care to admit, but you know how they initially drew the line between the two? This is many generations ago, back in the United States."

"Tsk," Bakugou glared, "Just say it so we can move on."

One of the nearby sidekicks hollered, "Mind your manners, dammit! That's the most stylish hero in the country you're speaking to! Voted People's Choice three years running!"

With a smirk obscured by his costume and a raised hand, Best Jeanist quieted his impassioned employee, "Appreciated, but the boy's just bark." Turning back to Bakugou, he explained, "It was the citizens' perception that informed lawmakers how to draw the line between heroes and villains. Even the vigilantes that operated in gray areas got swept away by the court of public opinion. So then, what's the takeaway from this history lesson?"

"That this is a waste of time."

"YOU BASTARD!"

Jeanist chuckled once more, "Funny. No, the answer I'm looking for is much simpler." He reached into a pocket and pulled out a fresh comb, "Appearance matters."

* * *

Yaoyorozu sweatdropped at her new mentor's antics, spending well over an hour in hair and makeup for a photoshoot on their very first day of the internship. _Please don't let this be representative of what's to come._

To her left, Itsuka Kendo seemed to be undergoing a similar level of turmoil, albeit a touch more casually based on her embarrassed smile, "W-well, at least we can say our internship is unique."

Uwabami smiled, smacking her lips together one last time, "There, perfect! When you're a Pro as popular as me, appearance is one of the most important things to maintain. It gives everyone that sense of awe they love to see in their idols."

… _maybe I should try to pick up on her confidence._ Momo sweatdropped when Uwabami decided to try combing her hair in a different direction, much to her snakes' dismay. _Seems I have nothing else to do for a while._

* * *

Izuku dusted himself off and straightened his uniform out, "Sir, Izuku Midoriya reporting for the internship. Thank you for having me." He bowed to the elderly hero on the stoop, earning a dry laugh.

"Heh," Gran Torino waved the boy inside, "Well ye' got manners down. Now hurry up and show me what you got."

Nodding and moving into the dilapidated apartment with haste, Izuku quickly threw his blazer onto a musty chair and rolled his sleeves up, "Sharingan!" His eyes took on the iconic red glow as the three tomoe spun out from his pupils. "One For All: Full Cowling!" His body took on a faint glow, green lightning crackling around his silhouette while an emerald shine rimmed his irises.

The retired Pro locked his door and examined the boy closely, "Hmm…I see. You activate them in tandem. Enhanced perception and physicality. That's a deadly combo, am I right?"

Izuku nodded with a grin, "Yes sir!"

"Wrong!"

In a flash, Gran Torino vanished, replaced by dozens of wind trails skirting around the living room walls, floor and ceiling. Objects went flying, as did some drywall, and even the appliances weren't spared from the show of power, if the crumpling microwave was any indication. Then, Izuku felt a kick to the back of his head. Then one to his arm. Then to his chest again.

"Gah!" He recoiled, falling onto the ground, aches already forming along his body.

"Tired already? Come on kid, the warm up's over." Gran Torino smirked as a jet of wind shot from his feet, sending him flying even faster than earlier.

 _He's way faster than Iida! The Sharingan can barely keep him in sight. And then moving itself is a problem since he'll outspeed me. I have to analyze his movements if I want to counterattack._

Through the hits and bruises, Izuku started to visualize Torino's pattern, the predicted paths appearing as lines in the world like some sort of augmented reality game. _It's like playing Whack-a-Mole, but –_ "Oww!" – _it's from the perspective of inside the machine!_ Gradually, his flailing became less random and more targeted, going from completely fumbling his grabs and jabs towards the elderly speedster to missing him by a quarter of a second to just barely grazing the hero's costume.

As he jet around the apartment, lightly pelting the newbie with attacks from every direction possible, the slightest of smirks formed on Gran Torino's face. _He's learning. The more he perceives, the clearer his movements become. Soon, he'll probably be able to predict my attacks and land a decent counter._

 _Okay, after this hit –_ Izuku winced as another kick landed on his upper arm – _he's gonna rocket to the couch and jump towards me. For a brief window, he'll be within my reach, which means…_

Suddenly, the couch shot back from the recoil of Torino's jump. On cue, Izuku leapt forward, his fist cocked back for a Detroit Smash.

 _I love these Quirks!_

Unfortunately for him, the timing and force of the jump was off, causing him to barely graze the hero's cheek with a poorly prepped punch.

 _I hate these Quirks._

Sneering, Torino suddenly increased his speed, flipping in mid-air and kicking both legs into Izuku's side, using the jets on his boots to amplify the force and knock the student into the crumbling wall, cracking both the foundation and his ribs. Izuku groaned as both of his Quirks involuntarily deactivated while he rubbed his side from that last hit. _He could go even faster?! This really is the world of Pros!_

 _Huh, so that's the problem._ "That was pitiful. You barely even started your wind up by the time you reached me."

"Sorry, my timing's been off since my Sharingan matured or…evolved…it basically improved." He dusted himself free of paint chips, wincing at the little tears in his dress shirt. _Probably should've asked to change first._ "Like events used to play pretty slow already, but now it feels around twice as slow. And then I can predict opponent movements earlier and with more detail."

Gran Torino guffawed, "So you get an Awakening and yet you're worse off than you were before? Heh, that's promising."

"Well, it's more complicated than that. I got used to the Sharingan over the last year so having it suddenly become more powerful is really discombobulating, especially with One For All since my movement operates at a different scale than my perception. My insight's gotten much stronger, so it's actually a lot easier to come up with strategies, but of course I'm so locked onto the old speed that I'm not following through correctly and – ow!" He rubbed the top of his head, more out of shock than actual pain.

The old man angrily threw his cane to the side, "That muttering might be the single most annoying thing I've ever heard, and I've had to listen to Toshinori practice catchphrases." He sat down at the table and gestured for his student to follow.

"Sorry. It's a force of habit," Izuku obliged, "But I was hoping that maybe you could teach me how to improve how much of One For All I can handle so then I'd compensate for this issue. And of course, just generally getting closer to All Might's level."

"So that's your goal for the week? Become so adept with One For All that you can just brute force your way through problems?"

"W-well, that's not exactly how I'd put it, bu-"

"Then explain it better. I hear you're smart so I'm expecting more than impassioned speeches."

Izuku looked at his lap and gripped his knees, "…I lost at the Sports Festival. And not even because of my Quirk. I just got so…obsessed with making Todoroki use his left side that I couldn't even think about what was important."

"And what's that?" Gran Torino crossed his hands and stared intently at the boy.

"What do you mean? I couldn't live up to All Might's expectations and I let him down. I injured myself and lost the finals."

"Heh, so?" Torino smirked, "Sure, injuring yourself was an idiotic move, but what's the big deal if you don't meet his expectations? What're your expectations?"

Izuku stood up with a start, "Of course it's a big deal! All Might entrusted me with this power so I could become his successor and the next Symbol of P-" He was cut off by the tip of Gran Torino's cane on his mouth. _Umm…gross._

"Would you stop trying to be like All Might?"

There was a tense silence before Izuku fell into his seat, "W-wha…Stop trying to be like him?"

"I didn't say to not be like him. But you're trying to be him; it's a set-up for disappointment. I know your generation was practically groomed to worship the guy, especially some loner like you who was too thick-headed to realize he had a Quirk-"

"The doctor tol-"

"-but you can't confuse being a hero with being All Might. His trademark is that he wins and saves people, but that's because he actively wants to be an inspiration for others. He's the product of growing up in an unsure time when villains outmatched the heroes and people were actively craving a beacon to latch onto.

"His actions and story can inspire you but trying to emulate him when you're so different is just setting yourself up for failure. Hell, I bet you only signed on to intern with me because you found out I taught him."

Taking Izuku's stunned silence as confirmation, Gran Torino continued, "You know, his predecessors are all very different people from each other. Sure, they were all true heroes, but they had different motivations behind their actions and applications for their power, aside from the common goal, of course."

"Common goal?"

 _Huh, you've really told him nothing, Toshinori_. "That's a story for your mentor to tell, but the point is that all of them were totally different people. Hell, the only thing All Might really has in common with his mentor is that annoying smile! Even their fighting styles are distinct." Torino thrust his cane at Izuku's chest, "But not you! You put him on such a pedestal that you're even using One For All exactly like him. For all intents and purposes, you treat it like you were Quirkless!"

"Like him? I don't understand, isn't it a power-up emitter-type Qu-"

Gran Torino barked, slamming his foot into Midoriya's face again, "Wrong! One For All isn't a Power Quirk, it's power, plain and simple. For All Might, sure he had nothing to work with, but you do. So use that big brain of yours."

The teen looked away, stunned and more than a little confused.

Sighing, Torino stood up and grabbed his cane, "That's enough for now. I'm going to grab some food. See if you can clean up." Wordlessly, Izuku obliged while his mentor left the apartment.

While walking down the street to the grocery store, Gran Torino reflected. _Sorry kid, but you won't improve if I just tell you. Take it from me: you gotta come to terms with who you are before you can think about what you're supposed to be._

 _But still…_ He rubbed his cheek where Izuku had just barely struck him. _…not a bad starting point._

* * *

"You want me to join the League of Villains, is that it?" Stain growled, leaning against the bar.

Tomura Shigaraki relaxed on his stool, idly scratching his neck, "That's the idea. You're about as renegade as they come. I need that in my party."

Stain narrowed his gaze, "For what? Besides attempted child murder, what're you after?"

Shigaraki smiled behind his hand mask, "Kill All Might. Then maybe some other people I hate."

There was a moment of deafening silence before Stain burst into laughter so grating, it must've sent all the bird in the neighborhood into a frenzy, "Heh, you want my help and yet…heh…you're what I hate most."

"…eh?" Shigaraki cocked his head, his fingers growing more frenetic, "You wanna try that again?"

The young villain moved to stand up, but before he knew it, he was thrown to the floor, his barstool clattering aside while Stain's studded boot pulled back. Shigaraki took a second to collect his bearings before charging forward, his hand outstretched towards the Hero Killer's face, only for the latter to seemingly vanish while connecting a punishing hook, sending the former crumpling to the ground.

Kurogiri tensed at the sight and turned to the screen to his right, "Master, should I intervene?"

If a response was coming, it fell on deaf ears since Stain grabbed the teleporter's metal brace with intense speed and locked eyes with him, "Sleep." He then slammed the pommel of his katana into the neck guard so hard, the bar was filled with a shrill ringing as Kurogiri fell over limply.

But the battle wasn't over yet as Stain saw a blur of movement in his periphery. He released the katana and leapt back instinctively, just in time to avoid a swipe from Shigaraki, whose temple was bleeding fairly heavily from the earlier punch that also knocked his mask askew.

Shigaraki flicked the blood away to the best of his ability, causing the mask to fall off. Gritting his teeth angrily, Shigaraki grabbed the discarded katana with both hands and grinned as his Decay spread along the serrated blade. "Hahaha…that hurt, you know."

"Probably not as bad as that." Stain gestured to the shiny red streaks along Shigaraki's lower jaw.

Tomura dragged a finger across the burn, "Courtesy of some UA brat. Nobody wants to play healer so…"

"Then this is really going to suck." Two knives instantly buried themselves in the young adult's shoulders before another side kick to the chest sent him reeling and coughing onto the floor, unable to move his arms without searing agony.

Stain was instantly there, kneeling down and pulling the left knife out – which made Shigaraki roar – to hold it against his opponent's throat, "I could kill you now, but for scum like you, heroes and villains who throw themselves around without aim or purpose, I have something special."

Shigaraki desperately tried to move, his anger building and building, until he locked gazes with Stain and remembered the very same look of fury, determination, and self-righteousness that he recognized in that pest from UA. _Those eyes…those eyes!_

With another roar, Shigaraki willed his left hand to grab onto Stain's forearm, instantly causing some of the bandages to fall away and cracking some of the skin beneath. The Hero Killer hissed before using his other fist to crack the younger man's head into the hardwood.

Standing up, Stain began applying spare bandages to the wound before the sound of clapping sent him back into battle mode. Curiously, however the sound was emanating from the same TV that Kurogiri had called to earlier.

Then a chuckle filled the air and every fiber in Stain's being, every instinct, told him to run.

" **Well done. Efficient. I'd expect nothing less from someone of your abilities.** "

Stain held another blade up to the screen and cautiously stepped back, "Who are you? What would you know of my abilities?"

The blue static gave way momentarily, revealing some obscured outline vaguely resembling a human form, but it was contorted and twisted beyond recognition, " **Oh, I've been paying special attention to you for a long time. I'm particularly fond of your career as Stendhal, though I also enjoyed your lobbying.** "

"…who are you?"

" **Hehe, that's a story we don't have time for, but needless to say, I'd greatly appreciate it if you could spare my young pupil's life. At least until you hear him out.** "

"There's nothing to listen to. He's a child throwing a tantrum, treating society like a game. He has no plan, no ideology, no conviction. He's a stain that I need to remove!" The Hero Killer held his blade up and stepped back in preparation to swing down, only to stop on something unexpected. _Huh? Oh it's that hand from earlier._ He kicked aside before narrowly moving his arms around of Shigaraki's reach. _He's got spirit at least._

"Not that one." Shigaraki growled, swiping the severed hand off of the ground before replacing it on his face, "I'll kill you if you do that again."

The contempt in his voice wasn't as terrifying as whatever master was watching them from that screen, but it still made Stain shudder.

"You have a weird fixation on my convictions. Thing is, I don't have any. I just wanna destroy the Symbol of Peace and the society that let him get so big while the rest of us got smaller and smaller."

Shigaraki smiled so widely, the corners of his mouth poked out from behind his mask, "I just wanna turn them all to dust!"

Silence fell in the bar, the hum of the cathode ray tube reverberating in the background.

"Our goals aren't the same at all." Stain growled before sheathing his weapon and collecting the fallen ones, "But we both want to destroy the society we live in. That'll be enough for now."

"Eh? Go to hell. What happened to hating me, huh?" Shigaraki pulled the other blade out of his shoulder with a grunt and threw it onto the ground, flexing his fingers, "So much for conviction."

Stain picked up the discarded knife before moving behind the bar towards the fallen Kurogiri, "That was to make you reveal your true colors. Death has a way of making intentions clear." He turned back to face Shigaraki, "There's a spark of conviction in you and once I see it grow, I'll decide what to do about you. For now, just send me back to Hosu."

He bent over Kurogiri's body and prodded him, "Wake up."

Nearly immediately, the black cloud flared to life, "W-what? What happened? Tomura, are you hurt?"

"No shit."

" **Heh heh. Kurogiri, please send Stain back. We'll contact him when we're ready to move.** "

"S-sure." He opened a warp gate and allowed the assassin to move through. _What was that Quirk? He barely did anything and yet I couldn't move or speak._

Shigaraki sighed exasperatedly, "Great, now this is going to be a whole thing. Might as well stitch myself up." He moved through the back door of the bar, leaving his stunned associate behind.

" **Do me a favor and take care of those wounds for him. He's liable to make things worse.** "

"…"

" **Kurogiri.** "

The smoke man snapped back to reality, "Sorry, master. Just a little shaken after that encounter."

The man behind the screen laughed softly, " **I can't say I blame you. He's got a powerful ability on his hands.** "

Kurogiri cocked his head, "You know it, then?"

" **Of course. For that matter, so do you. It wasn't as powerful, but I'm guessing Tomura doesn't care about that detail. Heh, he probably hated Stain the second he saw him.** "

"I do? Where ha-"

" **I don't like repeating myself. Go to Tomura. Now.** "

"Y-yes, of course. Sorry, master." Kurogiri bowed to the monitor and walked after the latter's apprentice.

"… **I should hire some extra staff. It's always a special event when one of my children comes home.** "

* * *

 **That Night**

After a silent dinner of uncooked instant noodles – and searching for a new microwave online – Gran Torino retired to his bed, leaving a very awake and very frazzled Izuku to his own thoughts.

 _I can't imitate All Might…I have no sense of self…Act like I'm Quirkless…_ "Heh, I kinda get why All Might was so scared of him. He definitely gives it to you straight." _In more ways than one,_ Izuku thought as he rubbed his sore ribs.

"But what can I do? I feel like the answer's so obvious but I'm just not getting it!" He rubbed his head out of frustration. _Okay, think Izuku. Use that big brain of yours._ On cue, he pulled out his notebook and began jotting down notes. _Let's list what Gran Torino said._

 _1\. One For All is just power_

 _2\. Use what I have_

 _3\. I can't emulate someone different from me_

 _Hmm…this is woefully unhelpful._ Izuku groaned as he sat back on the musty couch, "How will this help me match One For All with the Sharingan? Or get used to a higher percentage?"

Gran Torino's words rang in Izuku's mind, " _Your approach to One For All is exactly like his and it's terrible!_ "

"Wait, so I should try changing how I use One For All?" He flipped back to his notes from early in the year, "…egg in the microwave…glass filled with water…these are all analogies!" Izuku turned page after page until, "Ah here we go: 'clench your buttocks and yell smash'."

… _Gran Torino might've been right about All Might as a teacher_

Flipping through his notebook, Izuku opened Todoroki's profile, "He's probably the only person I know with a similar situation to mine. His left and right sides are practically separate Quirks, but they counteract each other, so using them in tandem allows him to avoid the adverse side effects of either." _But I've been using the Sharingan and One For All concurrently for months now. How can I make them work any closer? That'd be like asking Todoroki to use both sides at the very same time! You can't just force two separate things to work together!_

He stewed on the problem for a while, even digging through the older notebooks he brought with him. It wasn't until he was halfway through 'Hero Analysis for the Future, No. 4' that Izuku stumbled onto something useful. Carefully deciphering his childhood scribbled handwriting, he read aloud,

"Quirks are, in reality, no different than a limb or a muscle" – R. Yotsubashi of the Detnerat Company

 _Hmm, I said something like this to All Might when we found out I had the Sharingan during the Slime incident. I said it was probably activated by reflex…_

"Oh shit!" _Of course! For everyone else, using their Quirk is no different than flexing their arm. But since I got them so late, I've been treating One For All and Sharingan like switches to be turned off and on instead of extensions of myself._

Izuku put aside his journals and cracked his knuckles, warming his body up for what he had to do. _Those switches used to control different things._ He silently opened the backdoor – which was impressive considering there was enough rust on the hinges to forge a sword – and stepped out into the hot June air.

 _But now, the only way to go forward is to adapt!_

* * *

A tall man in a black trench coat sat in a filthy alley near Roppongi, the overwhelming glow of Might Tower only barely illuminating his long, unkempt red hair and steely yellow eyes. He idly chewed on some sort of meat – he thought it was jerky or maybe an old piece of dried fish – that he found discarded in the trash.

He then raised his fist in time to grab a hold of the person sneaking up on him, pulling them off their feet and onto the ground, "You'll have to do better than that."

Ken Ude just laughed, not seeming to mind how his pink hair picked up the filth – and smell – off of the alleyway floor. "Heh, sorry Koseki, but it's always worth a shot."

"Hmm." Koseki smirked as he released his grip on his friend, allowing him to sit normally – and brush the month-old rainwater from his hair, "Anyways, what'd you want?

Ken held up an old flip phone, "We got a call about the job. Said he wanted to speak with you."

Wordlessly accepting the phone, Koseki stood up. "They called us?"

"Yup."

"Hmm." He pressed the green phone button twice and held it to his ear. Within moments, a familiar voice sounded from the line, " **Ah, Mr. Hagane! I was hoping you'd call back soon, but this is especially quick. I appreciate your professionalism.** "

"Well you're paying me." Koseki scratched his unshaven chin, the rough and unmanaged skin flaking away, "What do you need?"

" **Ah you see, I was hoping we could make an alteration to our arrangement.** "

Tensing, Koseki tightened his fist, "Does this mean you're out?" From behind, Ken groaned, wordlessly leaning his head against the brick wall. _Figures._

" **Haha! No, actually to the contrary.** **I'd like you to help me on another job as well.** "

Koseki Hagane fell silent, out of shock and surprise more than anything. Once he heard no reply, his employer added, " **Of course, you will be handsomely compensated for both the difficulty of the task and the short notice.** "

"How short notice?"

" **I'll need you in Hosu City in two nights. Some associates of mine are hosting an event of sorts and I'd like you to help serve as entertainment.** "

"Tsk, civilian targets are messy. It's one thing on an island, but this is Tokyo we're talking about."

" **I will provide you all the transport you need to get in and out safely. And you don't need to inflict any causalities. It's about sending a message, in whichever form that takes. I'll leave it to your professional discretion.** "

"And if I refuse?"

" **Then I'll have to kill you.** " It was stated matter-of-fact with no room for misinterpretation or ambiguity. And Koseki believed him completely.

"Heh, fair enough."

" **Don't worry. Your compensation will extend beyond just money for you and your team. I'll also add on to our** **other** **transaction. I'm sure that'll appeal to a man such as yourself?** "

Koseki smiled so widely that half of the people in the area felt a chill run down their spine, "Sounds like a deal."

* * *

 **The Next Morning**

Stretching comfortably, Sorahiko eased himself off his old mattress and grabbed a hold of his cane. Looking down, he noticed the futon was neatly folded against the wall, almost exactly where he left it for the intern. Speaking of Midoriya, he was also conspicuously absent, though the soft muttering coming from downstairs gave a strong hint as to his whereabouts.

 _At least his work ethic's solid._ Gran Torino noted, readjusting the mask he slept in to properly cover his face. _He's got a decent head on his shoulders too, so hopefully he's gotten a little farther along._

Walking down the stairs, all hope was quickly squashed as he saw his newest pupil in the fetal position, frantically muttering whatever deranged scripture he had in those journals.

 _Well, his mind's lost._ "Oi, neophyte!"

Snapping out his trance, Izuku looked up from his notebooks, "Oh, Gran Torino. Good morning." His voice was hoarse and quiet, carrying his fatigue so well, the elderly man questioned the need for those eye bags.

"Christ, what's wrong with you?"

"W-well I was thinking a lot and then I thought I had a breakthrough with the Quirks…but I was wrong and by the time I realized that, it was morning."

 _Quirks…he's not getting it yet._ "Alright, lemme see what you got there." Seizing the journal out of his hand, Gran Torino sped through the notes, "Hmm…well at least you're trying. Your mentor might've had them in spades, but speed and strength is really all he had going for him. I know it's been a change adapting to your power, but it's about shifting your way of thinking more than anything else."

"You said All Might's predecessors had different applications for One For All. What did you mean by that?"

"Heh?" Gran Torino huffed, "They had different powers, didn't they? Why would someone who could fly use One For All like someone who couldn't?"

" _I can't emulate someone different from me._ "

 _That's what he said earlier._ "But I thought that-" The doorbell interrupted Midoriya.

"That's probably the new microwave. Go set that up for me and we'll have breakfast."

"Right." Signing for the package, he quickly unboxed and plugged in the fresh appliance. Then he threw some taiyaki on a plate and set it to cook while meditating on Gran Torino's words. _They had different powers…I've been using One For All like I'm Quirkless…_

" _Use what I have_ "

"Oh!" Izuku pounded his fist into his palm like a gavel, "So I need to use One For All to enhance the Sharingan! The past users of One For All must've had their own Quirks, right? So they would've had abilities besides the physical enhancement that could benefit from One For All."

Gran Torino drummed and fidgeted while his taiyaki heated, but he smiled slyly. _Almost there, kid. Just need a little push._

The microwave dinged and Izuku removed the hot plate, setting it down on the table. _But then_ _how_ _do I use One For All like that? It's not as simple as just imagining it. And even if I could do that, wouldn't enhancing the Sharingan just make my problem worse? Frustrations aside, it's better to be more in sync instead of more powerful._

"Gah!" Torino spat out some of his taiyaki, dropping the steaming piece with contempt, "You didn't pump it with red bean paste?"

"…what?" Izuku bit into one, "It didn't come with it filled in? I mean, it's pretty good, bu-"

"Pretty good? It's disgusting! It's just dough like this! Go get the red bean paste from the fridge."

"R-right!" Izuku grabbed a bottle of the maroon filling and started squirting some on the side like a dip.

"What're you doing, you savage?!"

He jumped back with a start, "W-what?"

Torino angrily waved the bottle around, "You need to pump it in! It's not taiyaki if it's not filled! It's just bread with shitty jam!"

"I-I think it would taste fine wit-"

"No!" Izuku winced. "They're not fit to be eaten separately! You need to put them together to get something palatable!" As demonstration, Torino stabbed a fish pastry with the bottle and squeezed in paste until it was dripping out the sides, "See? Try it."

Taking it nervously, Izuku bit into the pastry and raised his eyebrows in surprise. _Huh. It is…better…_

" _One For All is just power_ "

He dropped the taiyaki. _Quirks are like limbs…mine aren't separate…they're two halves of a whole! Most people have a single muscle that makes up their Quirks. But then Todoroki's hot and cold are like an antagonistic pair that counter each other but come together to form an arm or a shoulder._

 _But then the Sharingan and One For All aren't Quirks to themselves…they're like two muscles coming together to form a muscle group that's way better than them individually!_

Izuku grabbed the pastry off the floor and held it up proudly, "Gran Torino, I'm the taiyaki!"

"…go get some sleep, kid."

"N-no, just look!" Izuku widened his stance and clenched his fists. _I did have to change my way of thinking! It was never about putting the two together; they should never have been separated! The Sharingan and One For All are connected now, so I need to think of them like it!_

Green lightning arced across Izuku's body, which began to glow as normal. However, his eyes began to spark before roaring to life with a borderline-blinding shine.

Shielding his eyes, Torino smiled. _Now this, I can work with._

The glow dimmed slightly, revealing two luminous jade eyes with three tomoe each, revolving around his pupil rapidly like planets to a sun. _It's slower than before, but if I increase my output…_ The lightning picked up a bit of speed. _It gets faster. But then if I take it down a notch…_ The lightning subsided, leaving only a faint aura around the teenager. _…it's even slower than before._

 _This is my real quirk._ "Sharingan: True Cowling!"

* * *

 _Omake_

* * *

An old man in a yellow onesie and cape walked up to the cashier at the grocery store, "Excuse me, can you point me in the direction of the taiyaki?"

"Of course, sir! It's all the way in the back, next to the ice cream on the right." The worker smiled at the cute elderly gentleman in his loose-fitting hero costume.

"Thank you. But, do you have any taiyaki that comes without the filling?"

The employee raised her eyebrow in confusion, "You mean just the dough?"

The old man nodded.

The employee shook her head no.

"Then, can you get me some?"

"E-excuse me, sir?"

"I said go get me some."

Sweating, the cashier reiterated, "Sorry, but we really don't ha- AH!" She yelped as he suddenly appeared on the counter in a burst of speed.

"I already asked you if you had it. I told you to go get me some plain taiyaki."

"B-but we don't ca-carry it!"

He sighed, "Then go make some and package it nicely for me."

"S-s-sir, I don't k-know h-"

"Now."

Yelping, she dashed to the back of the store, frantically scanning the aisles for ingredients while Gran Torino just sat down with a smug smile. _It's the simple things in life._

* * *

 **I like Gran Torino. Turns out, I also like writing him.**

 **Since I'm feeling strangely impassioned to write for some reason, part of me wants to go back and see if there's anything in the early chapters that I can improve upon. If you have any ideas for that, please let me know (I also realize that would make it harder for you to keep track of story beats, but I felt I should ask).**

 **As always, let me know if you have any comments, critiques, or just thoughts about the story.**

 **See you (hopefully) soon.**


	21. Setting the Board

**Don't call it a comeback. Seriously don't, I'll cry.**

 **You all seem to like the last chapter, which is great news! It has been a while so I'm taking my time reacclimating to the process so please bear with me. But any and all feedback is appreciated.**

 **Also, I'll happily make a Discord server, but would it be easier to just talk over an existing one? Like aren't there a dozen other fanfic servers? I'm not sure as to the ethics of it, but I'm happy to adapt to whatever's convenient if it means interacting you lovely lot.**

* * *

 **Q &A**

 **\- Someone said that Deku should be as strong as Mirko with the Sharingan. I have never vehemently disagreed with anyone more. DO YOU INFIDELS NOT REALIZE THAT THICK THIGHS SAVE LIVES?!**

 **\- Yes, Koseki Hagane and Ken Ude are Wolfram and Swordkil. I wanted more villains and they have cool powers/designs and zero canon personality, which makes them ripe for exploitation!**

 **\- True Cowling is not the Mangekyō Sharingan. Basically, it allows Izuku to regulate the Sharingan's insight and perception the same way he controls Full Cowl. What I liked about Full Cowl in canon is the practicality behind it as opposed to the power-up. It felt refreshing to me so I tried to keep in line with that spirit.**

 **\- I would love few things more than to explain my love for the Prequels (holy fuck, I'm pumped for Clone Wars S7) but I don't wanna bog down the intro. It boils down to worldbuilding, the acting (fuck you, I like it), the characters, the music, the memes, the effects, and the story itself. Basically, everything except the dialogue. If you wanna discuss this more, you know how to reach me.**

* * *

 _Chapter 21: Setting the Board_

* * *

Gran Torino zipped around his home, furniture skidding across the damaged tile from the recoil of his jumps, "Try this on for size!" He aimed his heel at Midoriya's face and swung in a wide berth.

Right as the kick was about to land, Izuku moved his head slightly to the left and bent his knees so the attack only barely grazed his fluffy hair. Pivoting immediately, he reached to grab onto his opponent's leg, only for the latter to jet away in a burst of speed.

Perching himself in a fresh crater on his wall, Torino grinned at the boy, "Almost! Two minutes left!" He then rocketed off again.

It had been like this since the prior morning, with Izuku's relentless desire to test out True Cowling's abilities and Torino's sadism pushing the duo to engage in sparring match after sparring match. Of course, repeated practice also allowed the mentor to pick at his student's newfound abilities.

 _His movements are far more synchronized than they were at the Festival. Plus his reaction time is improved while he's also acting more efficiently and aggressively. This has the makings of a real fighting style! Though…_ Torino frowned when he saw Izuku stop mid-movement, which ultimately cost him a punch to the gut _…he hasn't ironed out the kinks yet._

Soon enough, the timer was nearing its end and Gran Torino decided to have his fun. "Come on, you need to land a solid hit on me for it to count!" He upped his speed and delivered two back-to-back kicks on Midoriya's torso, breaking the boy out of his True Cowling.

 _Shit!_ Izuku quickly devised a plan and dove behind the couch.

Gran Torino smirked. _So basic!_ He shot off the opposite wall straight for the sofa, intending to slam it – and by proxy, Midoriya – into the exposed brick behind.

Unfortunately for him, the couch suddenly lifted off the ground as a grinning Midoriya reestablished True Cowling and swung the furniture piece like an oversized baseball bat. _Now_ _you_ _try this on for size!_

However, the Pro Hero performed a mid-air change in direction and rocketed first onto the ceiling, then onto the wall behind Midoriya, and then finally into his student's side. As he completed his combo, the timer rang, drowning out his student's cry of pain.

 _Sorry kid, but that's another win for-_ "Woah!"

Right as the attack landed, Midoriya's glowing aura suddenly brightened. Gran Torino felt a tug on his cape and before he knew it, he was thrown across the room, crashing into the wall with a painful and powerful force. "Agh!" he cried, the wind knocked out him.

Clutching his side, Izuku ran to the elderly man, "S-sorry! I don't know what happened there! That last hit surprised me, and I wasn't thinking and the-" He fell silent once his opponent raised a hand.

Panting heavily, Gran Torino wiped some spittle from his mouth and gingerly rubbed his back, "I haven't been hit like that in a while. What was that?"

Izuku looked himself over and shrugged, "I really don't know. I didn't mean to do anything, it just sorta happened. It was like my body moved…before I could think…" _Huh…heard that before._

Cracking his back, Gran Torino mused, "Maybe your body is trying to preemptively respond to the stimuli you pick up with those eyes of yours. React as you perceive instead of stopping to think in between." _No wonder his reaction time improved so much; he gets to skip a step compared to the rest of us._

Izuku looked at his hands, "I did notice that True Cowling makes me feel kinda twitchy. Like sometimes I have to keep myself from movin- ow!" Izuku held his head where Gran Torino just rapped him with his cane.

"Why would you do that?! Stop second guessing yourself and just let your body move! Trust your instincts."

"Heh, a friend of mine actually told me that recently." Izuku envisioned his co-Deputy Representative. _Oh,_ _I should probably tell her about this, since she helped me develop Full Cowl and all._

"Well it's good advice!" Gran Torino huffed, "Seriously, you can't get in your own way like that...Although, based on that nosebleed, I'm guessing there's some downside to acting on pure instinct."

Izuku raised an eyebrow before wiping his nose, his eyes widening at the red liquid that came back on his hand, "W-what? How'd that happen?" _My head sorta hurts too._

"You said your current limit's 5%, right?"

"Y-yeah?" Izuku questioned while leaning his head back and pinching his nostrils.

"On that last hit, you started glowing more than normal. You think you accidently used more of One For All than you can handle?"

Izuku thought for a moment, "I guess it's possible. I used to be able to focus totally on just controlling my output, but now I'm also trying to manage all the jerky movements and the problem of maintaining True Cowling itself. And I'm also having trouble concentrating on strategizing since so much of my focus is on upkeep."

Torino sat down and let out a big sigh, "Hm, so your Quirk works best when you don't think, which itself requires conscious effort since you have, for better and for worse, the most hyperactive brain in the world. Of course, you could closely manage the input and avoid going over your limit while being able to come up with intricate plans, but then you're not fighting at your best...I've got it!"

"Yeah?" Izuku shook with excitement.

"Your life is way too complicated!"

He fell down with exaggerated disappointment. _Why did I expect anything else?_

Chuckling Gran Torino leaned back, "Well, there's nothing to be done about that. You've only been at this a day and a half or so and your only fighting experience is against an old coot. Maybe if you chose to intern with a hero with a more diverse combat range, you could get better practice in-"

 _No need to remind me._

"-but it's like most things: consistent and rigorous training over extended periods of time. Just like how you can't expect an amputee to use a prosthetic right off the bat, you need to keep at it and give yourself time. You'll get more comfortable managing it after a while.

"And besides, this is already a significant step up from when you arrived. I mean, One For All already boosts perception to match your enhanced abilities so your Sharingan would've become irrelevant sooner or later. As long as you keep training, your combat potential is borderline unlimited."

 _Wow, that was actually really good, considered advice!_

"Which is why we're going to speed the process up via Phase 2 of the Internship! Put on your supersuit because we're going to fight some villains!"

"W-wait what?!"

* * *

Stepping out of the black mist, Tomura Shigaraki grimaced at the sight and smell of the city. Despite spending much of his childhood in waste-ridden alleyways and dingy, infested apartments, there was something about the urban jungle that never failed to revile him. Maybe it was the concentrated masses of people living their lives that disturbed him so. Maybe it was the fact that so many of them were happy, seemingly content to live their lives in the society that so plagued his mind. However, he reminded himself how inconsequential his momentary disgust was.

After all, they'd all be dead soon enough.

"So this is Hosu? Pretty loud for a hub world."

In front of him and Kurogiri, the Hero Killer rolled his neck and shoulders, "This city is the latest to be reformed. By the time my work is finished, I'll be that much closer to a just society. But first…" He thumbed his new sword and freshly cleaned auxiliary blades, "I need to tear the old one down."

Stain turned to face his 'allies', "You said you wanted to destroy the status quo. Let this be a lesson to you: until those self-serving brutes are nothing more than a bloodstain on my boot, until the people wake up and realize the cancer that plagues them, our work is never done." He then jumped off the roof and began his hunt.

"Ugh, what a pompous prick." Shigaraki scratched his neck out of annoyance and boredom more than anything else, "He's like an essential NPC that doesn't do anything but has two lines of dialogue on repeat."

Kurogiri responded, "I can't speak to your simile, but he's far from trivial. Aside from his effect on the populace's psyche, he's proven to statistically decrease petty crime wherever he goes. And it's already shown that decreases in crime tend to be correlated with increased hero activity, both in number and average cases solved."

Tomura spat, "First of all, nice info dump. Secondly, you've just proved my point! We don't need someone who makes heroes better! Should've just killed him when I had the chance. Now I'll have to settle for my mobs."

On cue, three hulking, misshapen figures stepped out of a giant portal. The largest one was entirely black with red scars and lacked a skull, his entire head consisting of a jaw and exposed brain. The middle-sized one was yellow had a gas mask attached to his mouth and a set of giant wings on his back. The smallest one was only slightly larger than a man of All Might's size, but what he lacked in stature compared to his brothers, he made up for in eyes – of which he had four.

"You three go have fun. Civilians, heroes, it doesn't matter…maybe not pets. But otherwise, feel free to destroy whatever you want." Shigaraki grinned behind his father's hand as his minions descended into the cityscape. _Alright Hero Killer, let's have a little competition. Who can have the best Zerg Rush?_

* * *

Koseki stood atop a water tower, idly swinging his feet off the edge. _All he said was show up at night…it's Japan! Night starts at 5 o'clock!_

"Oi, Koseki! I brought snacks!" Ken called from the roof below, holding up a convenience store bag.

Smiling, Hagane tapped the water tower, a glow emanating from his fingertips. The walls of the giant metal cylinder warped beneath his touch, corrugating upon themselves to form a series of rungs like a unibody ladder, "You get any booze?"

Ube chuckled as he pulled himself up and over onto the rounded metal dome, "I don't think the advance payment would cover that. Maybe once we finish the job, we can hit up a bar and do it properly."

"Tsk." Koseki frowned and tapped the tower again, restoring the leg back to its smooth state, "I hate being broke."

"Look at the bright side, you've never been rich." Ken handed his friend a canned tea.

Koseki cracked the lid and drank deeply, "How is that a bright side?"

"Maybe you'd hate that too. And then you'd be disappointed!"

"I doubt it."

"You never know. Best to stick to what you do."

"So we should keep running jobs for thugs and yakuza?" Hagane munched on a strawberry mochi.

"I prefer to see it as establishing a solid working relationship among peers and colleagues. And besides, the new guys are a cut above the rest! You know what I call that?"

"No, but you're gonna tell me regar-"

Ube waved his hands around so much his drink spilled everywhere from the can, "Upward mobility! We're living the dream, you and I!"

"I'm pretty sure that's what you said when we jacked that Detnerat truck."

"Was that not living the dream?"

"All the support items exploded."

"While we were walking away from it! That's the shit that only happens in movies!"

"Except it was in my garage."

"And remember that article I sent you about the dangers of materialism? Honestly, what would you do without me?"

"Have a home?"

"It was an abandoned warehouse and you know it."

The two old friends continued their banter until an explosion went off several blocks away, creating a shockwave that sent their ears ringing. Almost instantly, the sound of people screaming and running filled the air, with the sirens following soon after.

"Jeez, what was that?!" Ken gingerly held his hands on his head.

Hagane tapped the tower, causing the metal walls to fold into shallow rungs again, "The client said there'd be a signal. That might be his way of sending it."

Nursing his ears still, Ken snickered, "Am I just supposed to ignore that you called some mob boss a 'client'? When'd you get so uppity?"

"Aside from the fact that his guy's clearly no mob boss, it's just like you said, Ken." Koseki turned to face his friend as he climbed down his makeshift and impromptu ladder, "We're moving up in the world." He landed in a perfect crouch before tapping the water tower, so it returned to its original smoothness

"H-hey, what about me?" Ube sweatdropped, unwilling to jump the twenty or so feet straight down.

Koseki didn't say anything but he pointed to his forearm, then to his temple and then to his friend. He then tapped the concrete of the roof, summoning a pillar from the metallic elements within to send him rocketing onto the roof of the next building.

With Ken, it took a moment for the epiphany to set in, "Oh right. Cause general mayhem and terrorize the citizenry. Nice."

Poking his right arm through the handles of their snack bag, he activated his Quirk, his left-hand warping into a conical silvery blade. He then jumped off of the tower before thrusting his arm into the metal walls, whatever resistance they offered only sufficient to slow his descent but helpless against his attack. forming a gash in the tower. From the tear he created in the container, a torrent of water erupted out, spraying onto the already-panicking people below. _Heh, now their socks'll be soaked. God, I'm bad._

He was feeling fairly proud of himself too, until the entire south face of the nearby apartment complex sheared off courtesy of his friend.

 _Tsk._ Show _off._

* * *

Manual panted as he ran through the city, doing his best to direct citizens towards shelter and designated safety zones. _Dammit! Why now? Why here?!_ "Iida, can you move ahead and see if there's anyone who needs assistance moving?"

"Yes sir." Iida dashed forward, keeping at a lower gear to maintain his agility as he weaved through the crowd, quickly scanning the frightened masses for any injured, elderly, or otherwise unable. "Manual, we have someone confined to a wheelchair and a grandparent with their grandchild."

"W-wait, this is my son!"

"Carry the family to me and then double-back for the wheelchair!"

"Seriously, I'm only 40!" The 'grandmother' protested as Iida hoisted both her and her child onto his shoulders before running back towards Manual and the line he was forming around the danger.

Manual helped them down and quickly ushered them back, "Seriously, how'd this happen so fast? Is it some sort of gas explosion?"

Iida didn't wait around to answer since he ran back for the other victim. _Maybe…does_ _he_ _have something to do with this?_ Pushing the wheelchair back at record speed, much to its occupant's delight, he turned around again to move further towards the site of the earlier explosion, "I'll go ahead to scout then."

Manual thumbs-upped as his intern sped away before he immediately felt a chill on his spine. _Why do I feel like that was the wrong call?_

With the speedster, Iida zoomed through the alleys and corners of the city, glancing every which way for any people in need of assistance. In the distance, he spotted a small group of people moving irregularly. _They're probably injured. I'll get to the sites Manual told me about!_

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Iida saw a figure standing in the darkness of an alley, his silhouette only barely visible in the twilight. But in his heart of hearts, Iida knew who it was.

* * *

The Hero Killer scoffed as the sound of more explosions and panic spread throughout the city. "That idiot…does he have to be so flashy?" Turning back to his latest victim, the trembling Pro 'Hero' Native currently clutching his bleeding side with one hand and the arm around his throat with the other, Stain smirked, "Even as far as local heroes go, you were probably the weakest in a while. But still," he paused as they locked eyes, Native inhaling sharply as best he could from the sensation, "…it seems you're also not the worst of the bunch."

Stain used his free hand to grab his pointiest and most robust knife off his belt, "I'll make this quick."

"Y-you…bastard…" Native croaked through the suffocation, his eyes already glazed and red.

But before Stain could drive the blade through Native's forehead, he saw a flicker of movement on his periphery. Acting with trained skill and reflex, he released his grip on Native, jumped back, and spun counterclockwise, delivering two back-to-back kicks that sent his assailant flying down the alley and knocked off his white helmet. _Every time with these speed-types. Momentum's as much a weapon against you as it is to me._

The newcomer scrambled to his feet and glared at him, "You! Red scarf, raggedy costume and a dozen blades. You're the Hero Killer!"

 _He's young. Late teens at most._ "What do you want kid? I'm a little busy at the moment," he said, gesturing to Native, who was nursing his throat and wound.

Tenya stared daggers at his opponent, his body shaking with rage, "You attacked my brother! Y-you…you ruined his life!"

"Heh, I've ruined a lot of lives. You'll need to be more specific."

Iida suddenly saw red and felt a sting in his pupils, followed by a dull ache in the base of his skull, "Ah!" He clutched his head and shut his eyes in pain. _What was that? His quirk?!_

"Hmm, so Ingenium's your brother? There is a resemblance, I suppose. But I'm surprised he lived! I didn't give him enough credit then." There was the sound of a sword unsheathing, "But you…you came here with vengeance in your heart. It was never about saving this guy," he jerked his thumb towards the fallen hero, "because all you care about is settling the score. But you're young so I'll be nice: Leave. Now."

Iida got into position and grit his teeth, all sense of reason gone, "Leave? Don't you dare patronize me! I am the last standing son of the Iida family and in the name of the hero Ingenium, I will make you pay!" With a roar, he took off, fire streaming from his exhausts.

"You will try." Stain quickly looked to Native, "Sleep!" As soon as the hero slumped over, the former jumped into a spinning downward slash, his blade twirling through the air in a brilliant silver arc.

Iida slid at the last second, skidding under the attack before using his hands to slow down while his feet pivoted, allowing him to line up a perfect Reverse Axe kick. However, right as he looked up at his target, he found his face well-acquainted with the Hero Killer's boot, the spikes tearing into his flesh with painful ease.

"Gah!" Iida yelped and scampered back, attempting to create distance, only for Stain to burst forward with explosive speed, seize his hair, and throw him headfirst into the alleyway brick. Before he could even register his pain, a series of earth-shattering hooks sent Iida reeling, blood quickly pooling from his nose and mouth.

 _These reflexes! This speed! The ferocity! He's inhuman for sure!_ Then Iida remembered his brother's broken body lying in the hospital, his haunted expression persisting for hours, the terrified whispers refusing to grant anyone in the room a semblance of peace. "Recipro-"

Stain suddenly raised his eyebrow, feeling uncertain in the wake of this new variable.

"-Burst!" Iida's engines roared to life as bright blue flames propelled his legs into the Hero Killer's side, kicking the assassin into the opposing wall. "This is for Tensei!" Charging forward, Iida buried his foot into the wall, blowing through the brick with ease.

Unfortunately, his target was in a different location entirely, "Your brother tried that too. Didn't work for him."

Iida turned in time for an uppercut to catch his chin. Flailing wildly to avoid falling, he used the last of his Recipro Burst for a sweeping hook kick aimed right at Stain's torso, only to go right through him. _W-what?!_

"Heh, so blinded by rage. It's almost too easy." Stain suddenly appeared to Iida's left, sweeping his smoking and overheated legs while stabbing a sword straight through his shoulder and into the ground below.

Tenya bellowed in pain, his left arm screaming from the roughly hewn blade. _He created an illusion?! What is he?_

"I hear people screaming in the background. You could've gone to save them instead of confronting me. Hell, you could've even tried to grab Native and make a break for it. But instead, you decided to prioritize your own childish emotions over the needs of others." Stain growled, slamming his hand next to Iida's head, "Someone like you doesn't deserve the air you breath!

"So I'll put a stop to that."

They locked eyes closely.

Iida felt a crushing weight in his chest.

 _H-how is that…_

* * *

 **Fifteen Minutes Earlier**

"You kids are always playing on those damn phones. Look out the window for once and enjoy the scenery! Only another hour or so to Shibuya!" Gran Torino huffed, lightly knocking his cane against Izuku's leg.

"Oh, sorry. One of my friends is in Hosu and since we're passing him by, I wanted to send him a quick message." _Though he hasn't responded to me in forever._ Izuku pocketed his phone and rubbed his knees, which wasn't very effective through his leg guards and gloves.

Speaking of which, "You know, that costume's pretty plain. I would've thought you'd go for something…I don't know…flashier?" Gran Torino rubbed his chin, thinking back to All Might's early multi-colored ensembles.

"W-well, my mom actually designed the jumpsuit for me, so I wanted to keep it in line with that." _Although the darker green and black is certainly an improvement._ Izuku ran his hands over his new suit again, smiling at the tougher feel and more complex design. _The mask is a big step up too! The replacement I got for myself after UJSJ didn't even work._ "But are you sure we'll see many villains on patrol? For one, we're getting there so late and- wait, also what time are we getting back?"

Shrugging, Gran Torino said, "We'll get back whenever we get back. Worst case scenario, we sleep in the station while we wait for the first train."

 _That won't attract weird looks._

"But as for the villains, nighttime tends to be the best time for incidents. The big stuff tends to happen during the day, sure. But for agile heroes like us, we can dip around tight alleys and rooftops to find all the skeevy sort that only play in the shadows."

Just then, an explosion sounded in the distance and the train braked sharply, sending Izuku tumbling while the more experienced Pro smoothly leapt onto his seat, "The hell?"

The automated announcer spoke, "Please remain seated. The train is making an emergency stop. Please remain sea-"

The voice cut out as a giant figure burst through the side of the train, sending many other passengers flying. It was a tall and lanky figure, with gray-green skin, four wide eyes and an exposed brain.

Izuku felt his blood chill. _N-n-nomu?!_ _In Hosu?! He looks different but that…that's definitely his cousin or something! So the League of Villains is here?_

Acting quickly, Gran Torino rocketed onto the ceiling and then into the beast, knocking them both through the hole it created with a headbutt, "Don't move, kid!"

The teenager was too stunned to hear, but then he remembered two crucial facts: firstly, he technically defeated the Nomu at USJ – albeit with a Chidori to end all Chidori. Secondly, and more importantly, Nomu was brainless and therefore susceptible to his hypnosis ability.

"Everyone, please stay in your seats!" Izuku cried as he moved towards the giant hole, the green glow of True Cowling enveloping his body as the tomoe spun into place in the emerald headlights he called eyes. Spotting the diminutive hero speeding around the foe on a nearby street, Izuku jumped off the tracks onto the closest building and skid alongside the wall to the ground.

Gran Torino barked, "I said to wait!" He jet around the Nomu, easily avoiding its sluggish and animalistic swings.

Izuku apologized, "Sorry, but I think I can help!" _This one seems a lot weaker than the other Nomu. He's slower too. But all that matters is_ … He jumped between Gran Torino and the Nomu and locked eyes with the latter. Feeling the familiar pressure behind his retina, he focused his mind on a single command, "Stop!"

The Nomu instantly froze, the Sharingan reflected in his eyes. Izuku smiled as his hypnosis succeeded. _Hey, now the Sharingan's green! True Cowling just gets better and better!_ "Now stop fighting and stay here." Nomu's arms went limp at his side and he slumped over, completely immobile.

"…huh." Gran Torino slowly walked up to his student's side before patting his back, "Well done. Now let's go."

"W-well done?!" _Genuine praise! How I've missed you._ Izuku felt his heart clench before the second sentence set in, "Wait, I get to come with you?"

Scoffing, Gran Torino beckoned him, "Well duh! If you can stop that thing in its tracks, then of course you're coming! Jeez, I didn't know you could hypnotize the damn thing! How long have you had that trick?"

"Like a month or so. I used it on the Nomu at the USJ and managed to get it to back off." _And against Kaminari but that didn't really work out for me, I guess._

"Damn, you really should've picked someone else to intern under! I don't have any tricks for mind control!"

 _You're telling me._

"But hurry up then! We can't be sure there aren't more like this one so we need to get a move on."

"Oh god, please don't say that." _My ribs hurt just thinking about them._

They ran towards the sounds of sirens and explosions, and past several civilians, eventually arriving at a city square of sorts filled with fire and Heroes alike. Oh, and a giant Nomu that bore an eerie resemblance to the one that caved in Midoriya's chest.

Two ninja-like heroes jumped into the air and fired a barrage of shuriken at the monster, but they simply ricocheted off its iron-like skin. Roaring, the Nomu swiped up, sending a blast of wind into the air that knocked the heroes aside.

To the side, a hero cursed, "He's too damn strong!"

Another one started charging, his bull-like horns at the ready, "Then we charge him together!"

"We're up kid!" Gran Torino barked, shooting forward, "Clear the way, he can hypnotize it!" Izuku ran forward in tandem, already focusing. _Just gotta make eye contact!_

Unfortunately for all of them, it was too little too late since the Nomu decided to slam its fists into the ground, creating a shockwave that sent everyone flying back in a cascade of rubble. Izuku rolled painfully along the ground, True Cowling fading. _Well that could've gone better._

The dust slowly cleared, revealing the Nomu was nowhere in sight. A hero in a green-and-white jumpsuit with a red bandana shouted, "Where'd it go?! I can't see!" Behind her, a large shadow moved.

Next to her, Manual's eyes widened as he moved quickly to grab her out of harm's way, "Behind you!"

Gran Torino rocketed forward as fast as he could. _Dammit!_

Just then, a red blur burst forth and slammed into the Nomu, sending it crashing past the Pros and into a building far away. "Heh, see that Shoto? Let your Quirk build and release it in short spurts for particularly explosive speed and power."

Izuku's jaw dropped as the herculean frame of Endeavor came into view, orange flames billowing from his face and torso so brightly, it drowned out the fires around them. And closely behind the Number 2 Hero was none other than, "Todoroki?!"

Shoto turned in surprise, his eyes widening, "Midoriya? Why are you here?" He walked over to his classmate and offered a hand, pulling him off the ground.

"Thanks. We were going to Shibuya, but our train got attacked by another Nomu."

He nodded, "So that really was a Nomu. I guess the League's here too."

One of the Pros panicked upon overhearing their conversation, "Wait, there's another one?"

Izuku waved his hands frantically, "Don't worry, we took it down! I can hypnotize them!"

At that moment, the four-eyed Nomu burst from the side, knocking several heroes back.

"Oh, come on!" _Did hypnosis wear off when I deactivated True Cowling?_

In a flash, Endeavor was there, wrestling with the smaller Nomu before throwing it into the air and launching a flaming javelin that connected with its abdomen, "That'll take care of that."

Unfortunately, the Nomu suddenly tensed its body and fired an identical javelin from where it was injured that exploded upon contact with the ground, sending dust and debris everywhere.

"Dammit! It can reflect attacks?" Endeavor growled.

Todoroki added, "The one at USJ could regenerate too."

On cue, the larger Nomu burst forth from the building it crashed into, punching straight for Endeavor. The latter blocked it with his palm and used his other hand to knock the former into the ground before stomping down with a fiery jet. As the smaller Nomu landed, Endeavor quickly formed a giant fireball and launched it at its feet, sending it back with the explosive force of the impact.

"Woah…" _So this is the power of the Number 2 Hero up close._

Whatever awe Midoriya felt was quickly squashed when Todoroki commented, "Hey, isn't that Manual? The hero Iida was studying under?"

"…eh?" Izuku's eyes bulged as he realized Todoroki was right, "Wait, so where's Iida?" _Manual's looking around frantically too…oh no._

"The Hero Killer was last seen in Hosu, right? Where Iida just decided to go work at?"

Todoroki nodded, sweat dripping down his temple.

"The League of Villains is attacking right now…you think the Hero Killer is working with them?"

"I don't really believe in coincidences."

 _Crap._ "I don't think I'm much help with your da…Endeavor here. You wanna come with me?"

"Already on the move." Todoroki swiftly used his right foot to generate a propelling stream of ice. Trailing closely behind, Izuku sped along with his reactivated True Cowling.

Gran Torino looked up from his foes to yell at his intern, "Hey! Get back here!"

Similarly, Endeavor called after his son, "Shoto! Where are you going?!"

The students simultaneously retorted, "Our friend needs our help!"

 _Damned kid!_ Gran Torino tried to speed after them but was blocked by a web-like arrangement made up of the four-eyed Nomu's tongue. _Oh, that's disgusting in every way._

A large pair of flaming hands fearlessly seized the tongue and pulled it – and the Nomu – in for a bone-shattering haymaker, "Honored elder, I don't know your name, but you should go help any civilians left in the area. Shoto can handle himself."

"Tsk, I'm going to beat that kid into submission." Gran Torino sped off with some of the other heroes while Endeavor stared down his foes with a wide smile.

Chuckling, he cracked his knuckles while the Nomu charged forth. _This is where the fun begins!_

* * *

Shigaraki growled as he watched the Number 2 Hero take on two of his Nomu simultaneously, "Goddammit! Of all people, Endeavor just decides to take a stroll through Hosu?! And that fucking UA brat was there too!" He'd recognize that green mop of hair anywhere. _This is really pissing me off!_

Kurogiri watched silently from behind, unwilling to try and stop his master's tantrum. _It's wildly unlucky for Endeavor to be here, but those students headed off in Stain's direction. Perhaps he'll wipe them out and brighten Tomura's mood._

Suddenly, Shigaraki tensed up before cackling wildly, "Haha! Kurogiri, I have an idea!"

 _Oh, I have a bad feeling about this._ "What is it, Tomura Shigaraki?"

"Hehe." He turned around, flashing his manic smile behind the mask, "How about we bring in an old friend to even the odds a bit?"

"T-Tomura, that's hardly necessary given th-"

"Hey, hey now. Don't go acting all disobedient right before I have my fun." Tomura flexed his fingers for emphasis, "Bring me the Boss Nomu. Now."

Wordlessly, Kurogiri opened another portal, this time bringing forth a large black Nomu with several red scars and a long, sharp beak. His 'skull' was now encased in a clear case, a bright red splotch visible on the brain where it was previously destroyed. He sported new black wings that he stretched out to their entire twenty-foot wingspan, as if testing them for the first time, which he technically was.

"Alright Nomu, there's a super-strong miniboss down there. It's time for some redemption. Kill him! And then find the kid from last time and turn him into paste!"

"Y-yessss…m-massssterrrr," Nomu croaked before taking flight in a violent leap.

* * *

"So you know where we're going?" Todoroki asked as he weaved between streets.

Izuku nodded, his eyes rapidly scanning the area for life signs, "The Hero Killer tends to stick to deserted areas with blind corners that facilitate sneak attacks. We just have to search all of the back alleys near the fighting and we'll…" _Found him!_

Jumping off the smooth pavement road, Izuku quickly bounced between the walls of a nearby alley before delivering a powerful haymaker to the Hero Killer's skull. Skidding to a halt while his target was sent flying, he looked down at his friend's body, "Iida!"

Tenya Iida was sprawled out, his right shoulder impaled by a short sword that likely extended into the ground. His face was bruised and bloodied, the helmet he wore likely discarded somewhere else. However, his eyes were half-lidded, with only the whites and a small part of the iris visible, "M-Midoriya?! And is that Todoroki?"

Sliding in, the latter instantly started steaming, his left side melting away at the frost that built up, "So you did go after the Hero Killer after all…"

Izuku looked at the latter, who was slowly standing up after being sent reeling from the full-force cross. _That's the man who's killed and injured dozens of heroes! The most dangerous serial killer of our time!_

Stain rubbed the back of his skull and growled at the newcomers, "You know, I don't like being disrupted. Especially twice." _He just had to go for the blind spot, too._

 _Twice?_ Looking to the side, Izuku felt his stomach drop at the sight of another hero in Native. _Crap, I was hoping to just grab Iida and run!_ "Todoroki, you think you can carry Iida or Native?"

Eyeing both the adult and the teen in full body armor, the heterochromic teen shook his head, "Unlikely."

 _Dammit. So we have to fight._

Iida grunted through the pain, "Midoriya, Todoroki…why are you-"

"We'll save you, don't worry!" Izuku activated True Cowling, ready to fight.

On the other side of the field, Stain tensed up, "Huh? How is that possible?"

"W-what?" Izuku cocked his head in confusion.

Behind him, Todoroki inhaled sharply, "Midoriya, look at Iida's eyes."

Carefully walking back, not taking his gaze off of Stain, Izuku glanced at his friend momentarily before flicking back when his jaw dropped.

Iida's eyes were normally blue, and yet they now appeared red with the pupil outlined by three black lines curving in a shuriken-like shape. Iida groaned, "H-he paralyzed me somehow…b-but his Quirk…it looks just like yours, Midoriya!"

Staring back at Stain, Izuku felt his blood run cold as Recovery Girl's words appeared in his thoughts.

" _Your Quirk is caused by a recurring mutation. It's almost like convergent evolution._ "

 _Of all people…_ _him_ _?! The Hero Killer has the Sharingan?!_

Stain's expression was shocked, but that didn't stop him from walking towards his new opponents, red eyes glowing ethereally in the night, "This day just keeps getting more interesting. To think I'd meet someone like me."

* * *

 **GASP WHAT A TWIST**

 **God, that was probably the biggest reason I updated. I had that twist in the bag since last June and it was killing me not to write that out. I mean a couple of you saw it coming so it's not that twisty, I guess. Also probably not that well written but whatcha' gonna do?**

 **As always, please let me know all you thoughts, comments, and concerns about the story or anything I listed in the top AN.**

 **See you all (hopefully) soon**


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